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Ocean Current Switching: Can changes in ocean circulation cause rapid climate change?. Richard Karsten Department of Mathematics and Statistics [email protected]. IB Camp, Wolfville August 20, 2008. Climate change, Hollywood style. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Ocean Current Switching:Can changes in ocean circulation
cause rapid climate change?
Richard KarstenDepartment of Mathematics and Statistics
IB Camp, WolfvilleAugust 20, 2008
Climate change, Hollywood style
Premise: Climate change might occur rapidly, causing untold
destruction
This year, a sweater won't do.Whoever said "Tomorrow is another day"... didn't check the weather. Nature has spoken.
The villain: the Gulf Stream
Wikipedia Synopsis:The movie is based on the idea that the Gulf Stream (or North Atlantic drift), an ocean current which circulates warm water from the tropics to the Northern Hemisphere, is disrupted by the melting of the polar ice caps. This leads to catastrophic changes in the Earth's climate, as the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere stabilizes into a new pattern.
A little more science on the big screen …
Melt water from Greenland, because of its lower salinity, could then halt the currents that keep northern Europe warm and quickly trigger dramatic local cooling there.(source: Wikipedia)
Is any of this realistic?
• Can the ocean affect climate?
• What is the Gulf Stream and how does it affect climate?
• Can melting icecaps move ocean currents?
• Is the effect of the Gulf Stream changing due to global warming?
Is any of this realistic?
• Can the ocean affect climate?
• What is the Gulf Stream and how does it affect climate?
• Can melting icecaps move ocean currents?
• Is the effect of the Gulf Stream changing due to global warming?
Ocean and weather: Nova Scotia
Australia
15o
19o
www.nsac.ns.ca
Ocean and climate: El Nino
Australia
earthobservatory.nasa.gov
El Niño
La Niña
The villain: the Gulf Stream
British Geomorphological Research Group
www.bgrg.org
Hopedale, 55º27’ N
Stornoway, 58º54’ N
The ocean stores a lot of heat.A column of ocean water only 3 m thick contains as much heat capacity as the full atmosphere above
(Gill, 1982). D
epth
5000
mHalifax Bordeaux
The ocean stores the heat created by global warming.
S. Levitus, J. Antonov, and T. Boyer, GRL 2005
Is any of this realistic?
• Can the ocean affect climate?
• What is the Gulf Stream and how does it affect climate?
• Can melting icecaps move ocean currents?
• Is the effect of the Gulf Stream changing due to global warming?
Ocean currents
The strongest currents in the ocean are a result of the wind blowing over the surface of the ocean.
Average surface winds
A rotating earth changes dynamics: Coriolis force
To observers in the Northern Hemisphere, rotation of the earth deflects motion to the right.
Wind forcing: Flow is 90o to the right!
50 m
Wind-driven circulation
H
Gyre flow
H
Thermohaline circulation
• Changes in the density of sea water can also drive ocean circulation.
• Vertical Motion: Light water rises to the top and heavy water sinks.
• Density changes are due to changes in temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline).
Sea water density
Warm water low density (light)
Cold Water high density (heavy)
Fresh Water low density
Salty Water high density
Water properties
Temperature Salinity
Water properties: Salinity
South Northmeridional
dept
h
South Northmeridional
dept
h
Temperature Salinity
Convection and overturning
Cooling at the surface can create heavy water at the surface, which then “sinks.”
Heat loss
The net effect is an overturning circulation.
Gulf Stream transports heat north
(after W. Broecker, modified by E. Maier-Reimer).
Gulf Stream
Warm water “pushed” north by wind.
Warm water pulled north by cooling and sinking.
Gulf Stream and climate
Australia
www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Dan--NZ/www.theworldwidegourmet.com
Thermohaline circulation (Meridional overturning circulation)
Is any of this realistic?
• Can the ocean affect climate?
• What is the Gulf Stream and how does it affect climate?
• Can melting icecaps move ocean currents?
• Is the effect of the Gulf Stream changing due to global warming?
• when ice melts in turns into COLD, FRESH water
Melting Ice
• If this water enters the north Atlantic it can prevent the sinking of the salty surface waters
Melting Ice
Water properties: Salinityzonal
mer
idio
nal
South Northmeridional
dept
h
Global warming is melting polar ice caps, which should make the northern waters fresher.
Fresh water shuts off convection
Heat lossFresh water from glacial melt makes surface water fresher.
If the water is fresh enough, it doesn’t become heavy so it doesn’t sink.
X
Thermohaline circulation (Meridional overturning circulation)
x
Is any of this realistic?
• Can the ocean affect climate?
• What is the Gulf Stream and how does it affect climate?
• Can melting icecaps move ocean currents?
• Is the effect of the Gulf Stream changing due to global warming?
An ominous current eventMatthew Hart
Globe and Mail, January 14, 2006
Weaker Gulf Stream threatens Britain's climateBy Mark Henderson, Science Correspondent
London Times, November 30, 2005
Is the Gulf Stream changing?
Evidence of freshening
http://www.whoi.edu/mr/pr.do?id=5098
Evidence of freshening
(B. Dickson, et. al., in Nature, April 2002)
Northern waters are fresher
(after W. Broecker, modified by E. Maier-Reimer).
• North Atlantic water has become fresher, possibly reducing the thermohaline circulation.
• If the warm water is no longer pulled into the North Atlantic, it should return south at shallower depths.
X
Are there changes in the circulation?
Surface warm flow has decreased slightly
Shallow return flow has
increased by almost 50%.
Deep return flow has
reduced by about 30%.
Measurement line
Reaction:Climate change: A sea change
by Quirin Schiermeier in Nature 2006 • The results are a surprise to scientists in the field.
• Modelling suggests that increase of fresh water flows large enough to shut down the thermohaline circulation would be an order of magnitude greater than currently estimated to be occurring.
• The Bryden results could be caused by natural variation, or "noise", that is, coincidence.
• If the results are correct, perhaps thermohaline circulation reductions will not have the drastic effects that have been predicted on European cooling.
More … Ocean circulation noisy, not stalling
by Quirin Schiermeier in Nature 2007 • “…the seemingly dramatic reduction discovered two
years ago in the strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is easily within the range of huge seasonal variability.”
Ocean Current Switching:Can changes in ocean
circulation cause rapid climate change?