Global Warming May Impact The Functioning Of The Deep Ocean Thermohaline Circulation

Scientists have studied the ocean’s history and discovered that this occurrence has happened many times before, and for at least the past 70,000 years it has been closely related to major climatic shifts on Earth. They believe the phenomenon that is occurring is when ocean circulation, or “overturning”, changes or weakens, less heat is carried toward the northern hemisphere, which can cause a stadial, or cold period. Another question to ask is how do scientists know this has occurred before? That answer can be found within tiny sea organisms called foraminifera. These organisms were found in a core sample that was taken from an area where the less corrosive waters of the North Atlantic and more corrosive waters of the South Atlantic meet. The distinct characteristics of these waters have different effects on the shells of these tiny microorganisms, therefore, scientists can look at them and tell where they came from.

A one way trip taking two weeks longer than the other. This was explained with the global ocean conveyor current loops. Global temperatures are rising because of gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and others. Penguin and polar bear population are suffering because of these changes. These changes potentially could stop the ocean currents causing an ice age. Ultimately, this will have an effect on upwelling creating a problem for fish populations. Furthermore, anoxia and sulfide eruptions can have a big toll on the ocean food chain. Mass die off of sea life is becoming more common and unless climate change is stopped they will become more

The ocean's surface waters are separated from colder, deeper water by a thermocline. The upwelling of cold waters, along the equator in the eastern half of the pacific basin, can be blocked when sea level is high, resulting in warm events. When sea levels are low the thermocline tends to be shallow, allowing upwelling motions to bring cold water to the surface, resulting in cold conditions. How it's measured is by devices used to track decadal variability and climate patterns which includes thermometers, rain gauges, and stream gauges. Sea surfaces temperature is important in tracking ENSO and other ocean oscillations. This can be measured by the distance

As Earth’s surface temperature rises, the ocean also becomes hotter which results in an increase in sea level and decrease in Earth’s ice. “The oceans have absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 700 meters of ocean showing warming of 0.302 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969” (“Climate Change: How Do We Know?”). Since greenhouse gases are trapping energy from the sun, the oceans absorb more heat which ultimately increases surface temperature. Oceans are able to absorb large amounts of heat energy because water has a greater heat capacity than air. As oceans become warmer, the frozen water on Earth melts at an accelerated pace. The thickness of Arctic Sea ice has dramatically declined throughout the last several decades. “Arctic sea ice

Altogether, the author effectively shows the damages that climate change causes on the Arctic Ocean. This includes changes in the water’s components, the loss of marine life, and rising oceans. The author is also able to show how imminent these problems are today, and that this is not just a topic for the future. This topic is important because the world’s emissions of greenhouse gases is hurting the ice caps exponentially, which will cause a ripple effect of harmful

     Now that we are aware that global warming is influencing our world’s oceans, we must look at the affects that it is having. I did not find any positive affects of global warming on the oceans. It is sad to say, but I was left with only the negative. One of the effects that warmer temperatures have on the oceans is that they disrupt the ocean circulation rate (Pearce, 1996). As I previously mentioned, oceans must maintain all of its characteristics properly. Warmer temperatures in the atmosphere affect circulation rates in the oceans. If circulation rates in the oceans are altered, then everything in the oceanic environment becomes changed. The oceanic currents become affected, as well.

In all, Earth’s oceans are diverse systems that all of life depends on for survival. The oceans act as a large conveyor belt; transporting varying volumes of water do different parts of the world. Any kind of alterations or disruptions to this conveyor belt causes regional sea levels to rise. These alterations are greatly impacted by anthropogenic climate change, the long-term alteration of earth’s climate as a result of human activities. The main ingredient behind climate change is the constant changing of global temperatures due to increasing levels of greenhouse gas emissions produced by humans. Mankind became intertwined with climate change during the industrial

The oceans is an essential component to surviving, but it’s also one of the most affected by the climate change. According to the EPA website, the greenhouse gases emitted trap heat and this heat is increasing the temperature of the oceans around the world. Over the past three decades, the surfaces temperature of oceans has been increase higher than any other time period. The oceans are a vital part of surviving; it provides 50 percent of all the oxygen in the world. However, with surface temperature increasing, at a rate of 0.3 Celsius per decade, this will result higher sea levels and higher ocean currents. The ocean is an important part to humanity, it provides millions of people with a source of food, and the change in temperature will cause many ocean species to immigrate to a more suitable habitat.

So, the rising temperatures affects the melting of land/sea ice which then raises the sea

Ocean currents are continuous movements of seawater that can transport cool or warm water, as well as Carbon Dioxide. When tectonic plates move they can open and close oceanic gateways that link to major ocean basins, controlling the global circulation of ocean currents, which can cause a shift in the transportation of heat and salt from the equator to polar regions.

Thermohaline circulation, often referred to as the ocean 's "conveyor belt", is a worldwide current system in which warmer, fresher water moves along the surface and colder, saltier water moves deep beneath the surface. Deep ocean currents are caused by differences in water density. Colder, saltier water is denser and sinks while warmer, fresher water is less dense and rises. Temperature of seawater is affected by heat from the sun and gets more heat input near the equator than near the poles. Salinity of seawater is affected by many factors including evaporation, precipitation and ice melting. Evaporation increases the salinity of seawater because when seawater evaporates, the

The processes occurring in the upper ocean are important for interpreting the global climate and its variability. The upper ocean is often referred to as the ocean mixed layer (ML). It is a quasi-homogeneous layer of oceanic tracers regulated by turbulence due to air-sea exchanges of heat and momentum fluxes. The thickness of the ML modulates its heat capacity and controls the evolution of sea surface temperature (SST), which is important for understanding climate dynamics. Therefore, the mean state and seasonal cycle of ocean mixed layer depth (MLD) and the relative roles of net heat flux (NHF), wind-stress and freshwater flux on the ML require to be explored over the global ocean. Insufficient attention has been given to the role of

The climate models are deficient in simulating the seasonal cycle of the ocean ML. Some

ocean reanalysis product (GECCO2), a single-column ocean model (KPP) coupled to an atmospheric GCM (ACCESS1.3) and CMIP5 multi-model mean over the global ocean. The

atmospheric heat fluxes at short time period and the heat capacity of the ocean integrates the