Posted on 2 February 2019 by John Hartz

Editor's Pick

A surprising new picture of ocean circulation could have major consequences for climate science

Some experts say the Atlantic Ocean circulation is already slowing down — but we’re just beginning to learn how it really works.

The ocean near the southern tip of Greenland during a cruise to deploy the initial OSNAP array. (Photo Credit: C. Nobre/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.)

It may be the biggest wild card in the climate system. Scientists have long feared that the so-called “overturning” circulation in the Atlantic Ocean could slow down or even halt due to climate change — a change that would have enormous planetary consequences.

But at the same time, researchers have a limited understanding of how the circulation actually works, since taking measurements of its vast and remote currents is exceedingly difficult. And now, a major new research endeavor aimed at doing just that has suggested a dramatic revision of our understanding of the circulation itself.

A new 21-month series of observations in the frigid waters off Greenland has led to the discovery that most of the overturning — in which water not only sinks but returns southward again in the ocean depths — occurs to the east, rather than to the west, of the enormous ice island. If that’s correct, then climate models that suggest the circulation will slow as the climate warms may have to be revised to take this into account.

A surprising new picture of ocean circulation could have major consequences for climate science by Chris Mooney, Washington Post, Jan 31, 2019

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Sun Jan 27, 2019

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• Ways to help kids cope with — and help combat — climate change by Ronit Feinglass Plank, Lifestyles, Washington Post, Jan 22, 2019
• Climate change: The more we know, the worse it seems, Opinion by Mark Lynas, CNN, Jan 26, 2019
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Mon Jan 28, 2019

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Tue Jan 29, 2019

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Wed Jan 30, 2019

• Warming seas may increase frequency of extreme storms by Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA's Vital Signs of the Planet, Jan 28, 2019
• Ancient Plants Reveal Arctic Summers Haven't Been This Hot in 115,000 Years by Brian Kahn, Gizmodo, Jan 27, 2019
• How frigid polar vortex blasts are connected to global warming by Jennifer Francis, The Conversation US, Jan 29, 2019
• The secret to legislative success for climate activists by Teal Arcadi, Washington Post, Jan 28, 2018
• The Climate Kids Are Coming by Mark Hertsgaard, The Nation, Jan 29, 2019
• Scientists Consider “Quick Response” Plan to Counter Climate Misinformation by Scott Waldman, E&E News/Scientific American, Jan 30, 2019
• Trump always dismisses climate change when it’s cold. Not so fast, experts say. by Chris Mooney & Brady Dennis, Climate & Environment, Washington Post, Jan 29, 2019
• Making cities more dense always sparks resistance. Here’s how to overcome it. by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Jan 30, 2019

Thur Jan 31, 2019

• A Green New Deal must not sabotage climate goals by Dana Nuccitelli, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Jan 30, 2019
• What is the polar vortex – and how is it linked to climate change? by Oliver Milman, Guardian, Jan 31, 2019
• Hollywood: Can You Get Climate Change Right for Once? by Kate Marvel, Scientific American, Jan 30, 2019
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Fri Feb 1, 2019

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• Greta Thunberg: 5 things we can learn about climate change from a 16-year-old schoolgirl by Jessica Taylor, Evening Standard, Jan 30, 2019
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Sat Feb 2, 2019

• “Global warming” and “climate change” are disasters at conveying our environmental predicament by Elijah Wolfson, Quartz, 31 Jan, 2019
• January was Australia's hottest month since records began  by Lisa Cox, The Guardian, Jan 31, 2019
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• A surprising new picture of ocean circulation could have major consequences for climate science by Chris Mooney, Washington Post, Jan 31, 2019
• Forecast: flurries of shivering climate-change deniers by John Cook, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Jan 29, 2019
• Scientist Who Rejects Warming Is Named to EPA Advisory Board by Scott Waldman, E&E News/Scientific American, Feb 1, 2019
• 16 Sustainability Leaders Weigh In: How YOU Can Help To Reverse Global Warming by Ryan Hagen, Crowdsourcing Sustainability, Jan 11, 2019
• New research, January 21-27, 2019 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, Feb 1, 2019