Team Members: Veronica Colon, Samy Harmoush, Jose Ramos, Christy Yunn Causes & Effects of Variations in Deep Underwater Current in the North Atlantic Ocean Team Members: Veronica Colon, Samy Harmoush,  Jose Ramos, Christy Yunn

Introduction to the Issue Before the development of modern instruments capable of measuring the deep ocean, scientists assumed the deep ocean to be relatively stable and unchanging. However, this has turned out not to be the case.   Today we find the Atlantic MOC (meridional overturning circulation) otherwise known as the thermohaline to be a vibrant, changing and significant element of our environment. NASA defines a thermohaline as the “combined effects of temperature and salinity that contribute to density variations in the oceans.”

Background The North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) is a mass of water found in the Northern Atlantic at depths between 1000 and 4000m that can be traced into most other ocean basins.  “It is formed in the North Atlantic from some 5 Sv (5 × 106 m3s−1) of Atlantic Bottom Water entering through Denmark Strait and across the Scotland–Faeroe–Iceland Ridge. This water flows toward the Labrador Sea, entraining another 5 Sv from the eastern North Atlantic on its way. Another 5 Sv is added in the Labrador Sea by winter convection, giving a total of 15 Sv of NADW formation. The NADW formation process is the engine of the ocean conveyor belt, which makes NADW one of the most important water masses for today's climate.

The Gulf Stream is an essential part of the North Atlantic Deep Water circulation system.  When the Gulf Stream moves warm surface water from the equator north through the Atlantic, the water cools, gets saltier due to evaporation and becomes very dense. By the time it approaches the coast of Newfoundland, or further northeast in the Norwegian Sea, it becomes dense enough to sink- a process called overturning. This dense water then slowly travels through the deep ocean southward into the Southern Hemisphere, with the return flow to the north occurring at the surface.

Causes    The causes of this slow down of the North Atlantic Deep Water circulation system seem to result from the addition of massive amount of fresh water into the system.  This is a result of more rainfall in the North Atlantic due to global warming because warmer temperatures increase the atmosphere's capacity to carry water as well as the melting of the several major glaciers in the region.  This addition of fresh water into the circulation leads to the eventual weakening or slow down of the overturning process which is a major part of the circulation. 

Implications ? The slowdown of the NADW is potentially significant because the NADW circulation system is responsible for redistributing a substantial portion of Earth's heat from low latitudes to high latitudes. ? The NADW makes Europe much warmer than it would be without these currents. ? the Gulf Stream which is in part wind driven will still redistribute a great sum of the Earth?s heat to the polar region and Western Europe ? Many climate alarmists are claiming that this will plunge the continent into a new Little Ice Age that ultimately leads to all sorts of political tensions around the globe.

? Studies conducted on past slow of the NADW speculate that once freshwater stopped flowing, the ocean circulation would return within only a few decades, matching a rapid warming seen in the climate record ? Everything from the economy, to agriculture, as well politics will be impacted in Western and Continental Europe. ? We are the generation that could better our planet: therefore, if we want change we must be that change that we want to see!

Be the Change on this frontiers and Thank You