Quote:
Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp
This sea currents thing is confusing me now. If the currents are going to stay the same how is the Gulf Stream/Atlantic drift going to change? Just have colder non drifty water on top of it?
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Hi Willow,
Two things that drive the Gulf Stream circulation. The first, of course, is the enormous amount of solar energy captured by the tropical areas of the ocean. However, as the stream cools, the salinity of the water causes it to sink in the northern seas, where there is essentially a cold return current. As this cold current runs deep in the ocean, it does not cause a lot of cooling to land masses. The concern is that the fresh water ice melt from the Arctic will interfere with and possibly stop the sinking of the water, messing up the return flow, effectively shutting the Gulf Stream down.