According to ‘Green facts’ the Thermohaline Circulation (THC) is the “Large-scale density-driven circulation in the ocean, caused by differences in temperature and salinity.” The oceans water has different salt contents and different temperatures in different areas. The colder water which is cooled at the poles is denser so will sink below the warmer water which is less dense. Surrounding water then moves in to fill the gap as the colder water sinks, this water is then also cooled and will itself begin to sink- this creates the current. Cooler water is usually found at the poles because as sea ice forms the salt content of the ocean increases, because freshwater is taken away when the ice forms. The THC circulates the globe in a long continuous circle. However if the density or salt content of water is changed then it can potentially shut off the THC, if water becomes less saline then it won’t be as dense so may not sink and rise in the same way. One way scientists believe it could be shut off is if glaciers and ice caps melt, this would add a huge amount of freshwater into our oceans- causing it …show more content…
As ocean temperatures increase due to global warming they increase ice melt of these ice sheets and glaciers by melting the floating ice from below. If the air temperatures increase then the ice will begin to melt from above, creating pools of melted water that will in turn melt more of the surrounding ice. This may not always result in a problem as it’s expected that ice sheets reduce in size in the summer months but recently what has been found is that less ice is formed during winter so in total the ice sheets and glaciers are being reduced in size, adding more and more fresh water to our
If you are arrested for a DUI, you are not only part of a DUI case, but also an administrative case. In Smyrna, Georgia, the administrative case is separate to the criminal case but occurs alongside it. While it may seem like the criminal case is more important, you must attend both hearings.
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.
Climate change will cause the air in the arctic to get warmer which melts the permafrost in the ground. The Sea ice will melt due to higher temperatures of the air and ocean, ending in rising sea levels and the melting of glaciers. You might think we have lots of time before this happens but in reality each year we lose about twice the size
If glaciers continue to be melted, more water will be added to the ocean. A lot of water flows to the sea from the melted glaciers and temperature rises. That helps the ocean to flow smoothly. Glacier melting also allows fresh drinkable water which is renewed through precipitation. Glacier melting is also an important sign for climate change.
Climate change is causing glaciers to melt. In the video it says “when the ocean gets warmer it swells on top of that glaciers and ice sheets are melting”. This is important because it shows glaciers are melting because the ocean is too warm. This
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
However, issues the occur with rising temperature involve more severe floods, storms, droughts and fires which could then lead to higher death toll in human and animal life because for some animals it will be too hot to live. Due to this rise in Temperature Sea, level has increased dramatically and scientist estimate that the sea will continue to rise 15-95 cm by the end of the century. Sea levels are rising because two reasons. First with increasing average global temperatures, the water in Earth’s oceans expand in volume. This occurs because, when heated the molecules that make up a body of water move more rapidly and collide more often. The second reason is when glaciers and ice sheets melt the water that had previously been frozen the glaciers will melt and release the water cause more enter the oceans and
For many years now, scientists have believed that our climate is changing. This climate change has caused water currents up north, near Antarctica to shift leading to warm waters taking the place of the usual cold arctic waters. Warm water melts the glaciers and causes the top of the glaciers to float off into the sea, allowing the warm water to melt even more glaciers. The extra glacier melting into our sea has caused the sea levels to raise and the
Thermohaline circulation of the ocean corresponds to the change of density in flowing water. It is created through global density gradients constructed by surface heat and freshwater fluxes through the large scale ocean circulation. It is based on deep water currents that make up 90% of the ocean. Water moves around areas found under sea, ocean basins, since density is caused by forces and gravity. The amount of salt in the water and the temperature of the water changes the density. Salinity and cold temperatures make the water more dense which causes deep waters, which form when air temperatures are cold and the salinity of the surface of waters is high, to sink into deep ocean basins at high latitudes where temperatures are cold enough for the density to decrease. In other terms, it is known as part of the ocean circulation created through the differences in densities.The density of the water is dependent on the salinity and temperature which changes from the surface of the water either heating up or cooling down as freshwater flows as said before. Thermohaline circulation moves a massive current around the world not to
While thermal expansion is difficult to observe on a small scale, such as a glass of water, it can have a significant impact on a massive volume of water such as the combined oceans of the world. Melting land ice, the other major factor in the sea-level rise, is a more straightforward issue. As global temperature increases, land-based glaciers and ice will melt sooner and accumulate later. Naturally, this runoff will lead to an increase in the total amount of water in the ocean.
As well as being an area where nutrients are recycled and released into the water, the Polar Front region in the North Atlantic plays a fundamental role in the driving of ocean currents. At the front near the Greenland, Iceland and Norwegian (GIN) seas and the Labrador Sea, warm salty water from the North Atlantic is cooled by Arctic waters and by intense heat loss to the atmosphere; it becomes denser and sinks to deeper layers of the ocean. Salt rejected as sea ice forms also increases the density and contributes to the process. Although a slow process, this sinking takes place over a wide area and each winter several million cubic kilometers of water sink and begin moving slowly south along the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. It is known as thermohaline circulation because it is driven in part by temperature and partly by salinity differences.
Last but not least, global warming has caused the polar ice caps to melt. The melting of the polar ice caps will cause the sea levels to rise all over the world. If the sea levels rise just a metre
One of the effects of global warming is the polar ice caps’ melting. Scientists have been researching and examining the polar ice caps for a long time and they have come to the conclusion that the thin ice sheets are slowly wasting away. They have also found out that Greenland’s glaciers are getting smaller and smaller. Places around the globe that use to be covered in ice and snow are now showing more green terrain as the years go on and as the winter months grow warmer. The polar ice caps are melting more and more due to higher global temperatures. This is really bad because the ice caps “reflect and help regulate the Earth’s temperatures.”
Water takes up a larger percentage of the surface of our Earth than does land. The earth’s oceans are vital aspects to our environment and it is necessary that we take care of them. On another note, global warming is an issue that is having effects on almost all aspects of our environment. Global warming itself means a gradual increase in the temperature of our Earth’s atmosphere over large periods of time. There is evidence that global warming has occurred in the atmosphere, however, now we are beginning to see its effects in the world’s oceans, as well. Though some may not see the connection that it has with the oceans, it has had quite a profound effect on our Earth’s oceans. As I mentioned before, oceans are environments that must
One of the most serious effects of global warming, as it continues to intensify, is the increase in the ocean levels. Thermal expansion of the ocean and glacial melting are likely to cause a .5 to 1.5 meter rise in the ocean level by the year 2100. As the ocean level rises and if no protection is provided, many freshwater supplies could be jeopardized. Tens and possibly hundreds of millions of