Tag Archives: thermohaline circulation

Understanding Sea Level Rise, p4: ice sheet dynamics and (13) melting feedbacks – a background to 21st century SLR acceleration

In 2016 two influential new publications raised the possibility of a rapid acceleration of sea level rise in the 21st century – to ±2 metres (DeConto & Pollard) or more (2-5m, Hansen et al). In this background article we take … Continue reading →

Gulf Stream may not collapse, it may gradually come to a halt – these AMOC graphs show

Here at Bitsofscience.org we’ve written quite extensively on why a direct shutdown of the Gulf Stream is unlikely – and that the collapse scenario featured in that one movie we only ever saw the trailer of probably did not even … Continue reading →

Antarctic Carbon Capture and Storage Whirlpools discovered

“The Southern Ocean is a large window by which the atmosphere connects to the interior of the ocean below” – Jean-Baptiste Sallée from British Antarctic Survey, lead author of new publication in the August edition of Nature Geoscience.

MOC may have a power switch in Southern Ocean too

MOC stands for Meridional Overturning Circulation, and although it refers to the same global pattern of ocean currents (‘conveyor belt’) as the thermohaline circulation, this story shows why actually MOC is the more accurate name, as it is not just … Continue reading →

Today’s paradox: Russian ice is melting, water becomes saltier

As the climate changes, so does the face of local meteorology. In the Arctic it appears the Beaufort high is gradually making place for increased dominance of low pressure systems, leading to a more dominant positive phase in the Arctic … Continue reading →

Holocene climatic changes were local phenomena – except current warming

Of course you know these people that by now feel a bit cornered and say ‘okay, perhaps temperatures are going up. But that’s what it does, the global climate changes all the time.’ Well, to keep things simple: no, it … Continue reading →

Ice age riddle nr2: If Lake Agassiz drained at wrong time, what caused Younger Dryas?

In our first ice age riddle a couple of days ago we looked at the link between CO2 rise and ice retreat, after the last ice age had reached its max, some 18,000 years ago.

Ice age riddle: what burped CO2 and wasn’t ocean or Neanderthal?

During the Earth’s ice ages the Pacific Ocean stored large amounts of carbon, which for some reason it released again close to the last glacial period’s end, warming the world and melting most of the icecaps. That is how the … Continue reading →

New evidence for bipolar seesaw link between Greenland and Antarctica – and abrupt climate variability

Glacials and interglacials on the northern and southern hemisphere somehow do not seem to correspond. This has led to a ‘thermal bipolar seesaw theory,’ whereby an off-mode in the thermohaline circulation leads to an ice age in Europe, but excess … Continue reading →