Slowing Down Of The Global Conveyer Belt And The Thermohaline System

• Most of the weather and climate on the planet is governed by oceanic currents rather than atmospheric circulation

• The thermohaline oceanic circulation is a broad network of oceanic currents which transfers heat around the planet from the poles to the tropics

• The thermohaline circulation is initiated in the Arctic, where particular conditions produce large amounts of very salty water

• The salty water, much denser then the surrounding water, sinks right to the ocean floor, working as a pump mechanism and initiating the global oceanic conveyor belt

• However, Scientists are becoming more and more concerned that due to global warming, the sea water in the Arctic peninsula is becoming less and less salty due to the melting of land and sea ice.

• If the water becomes too fresh, this sinking trend may slow down to the point of stopping. If this would happen it would result in large scale and unprecedented, rapid perturbations of the earth’s climate system

Source of Information : Climate Change: A Silent Threat by Sylvain Richer de Forges

Slowing Down Of The Global Conveyer Belt And The Thermohaline System