TWH – The Gulf Stream flows from the Caribbean into the North Atlantic, warming northern Europe. Recently, climate scientists have reported that the Gulf Stream has become weaker. Consistent with a weakening Gulf Stream, a cold blob of water now sits in the North Atlantic.
Atlantic ocean – Image credit: NOAA – Public Domain
An animist perspective can help to understand the full impact of this weakened oceanic current. Geologic, oceanic, and atmospheric processes are like the skeletal, circulatory, and respiratory systems. Like their somatic counterparts, none of these planetary systems exists independently of any other. These interdependent systems co-evolve with each other, and a weakened Gulf Stream is similar to weakened arterial blood flow in the human body.
The oceans play a crucial role in local weather and global climate. Pagan and geologist, Kathleen Borealis said “the ocean acts as a temperature buffer making coastal areas more temperate than inland areas. The oceans, in fact, are a heat sink and have been absorbing a lot of the consequences of global warming.”
How the Gulf Stream functions
The author of a recent study, Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research PIK, told Phys.org, “The Gulf Stream System works like a giant conveyor belt, carrying warm surface water from the equator up north, and sending cold, low-salinity deep water back down south. It moves nearly 20 million cubic meters of water per second, almost 100 times the Amazon flow.” It’s a river in the Atlantic.
Atlantic currents showing the Gulf Stream – Image credit: Jameswoitas – CC BY-SA 4.0
That downward sinking starts the cold flow to the south, parallel to and under the warm flow to the north. The deep, cold water flows back to the Caribbean. The warm surface water warms Europe. This creates a dynamic, self-sustaining equilibrium.
Borealis described how the Gulf Stream affects climate and weather. “Warm water from the Gulf of Mexico actually serves as a major source of heat helping shape the climate of Western Europe. Without this source of heat, Ireland, Britain, and even Scandinavia would be much colder.”
Besides warming northern Europe, the Gulf Stream influences hurricanes in the western Atlantic. Hurricanes draw their energy from the warm waters of the tropics. The Gulf Stream moves warm water from the tropics northward. As it weakens, more warm water remains in the tropics for hurricanes to feed on.
Past flows of an ocean currents
To determine the consequences of changes, scientists often look to the past. That backward glance has its limitations. It was only in 2004 that scientists began measuring the strength of the Gulf Stream.
Borealis explained, “to access the deeper past, we rely on what we call proxy data. This is something like using tree rings to look for harsh winters in the past, or, in this case, ocean sediments and ice cores. These both act as a record of past conditions like tree rings.”
Rahmstorf reported on his findings in “Current Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation weakest in last millennium.” He used three types of proxy data. The results from those three types of proxy data were in general agreement.
According to the website, Phys.org, Rahmstorf said that the Gulf Stream was weakening. It had relative stability from about 400 C.E. to the end of the “little ice age” in the late 19th Century. After that, its strength began to decline, and around 1960, that decline accelerated. Prior studies have shown that since the 1960s, it has slowed by about 15%.
A weakened Gulf Stream
Some major climate change projections may have been too optimistic. Arctic ice is melting faster than some researchers originally predicted.
As global temperatures rise, rainfall will increase and ice in the North Atlantic and Greenland will melt. These two processes will introduce large amounts of colder water into the North Atlantic. This increase in cold freshwater could disrupt the equilibrium of the Gulf Stream.
Borealis said, “In general, the impact on sea level from the weakening of the Gulf Stream is small compared to the melting of the ice sheets, but with both systems interacting we can expect more severe weather on both sides of the ‘pond.’“
Climate modelers expect the Gulf Stream to weaken further, opinion varies on exactly how much it will weaken. One current model estimates that the Gulf Stream will be 34 to 45% weaker by 2100. If that degree of weakening were to occur, it could destabilize the entire Gulf Stream.
Since the Gulf Stream helps to steer the path that hurricanes take along the coasts, if were to become unstable, forecasting hurricanes would likely become less predictable.
The effect and impact of climate change have the potential to affect many interlocking systems in complex ways. People have to pay close attention.
“Human-caused climate change is here.” Borealis implored, “We are already seeing the more severe storms and are even starting to see climate refugees. … Individual action is not enough. We need global and system-wide change. … As Pagans, I feel it is important to accept that human-caused climate change is already impacting us and to work towards solutions to mitigate the damage and help those impacted. Like most things, climate change is likely to disproportionately impact already vulnerable communities.”
More information about the effects of climate change on the Gulf Stream can be found on The Columbia Climate School website.
The Wild Hunt is not responsible for links to external content.
To join a conversation on this post:
Visit our The Wild Hunt subreddit! Point your favorite browser to https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Wild_Hunt_News/, then click “JOIN”. Make sure to click the bell, too, to be notified of new articles posted to our subreddit.