Related Posts
Perpetual Ocean: High-Def View of Surface Currents
Video Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
A nifty animation from NASA illustrating the paths of global ocean...
The Bad News Continues to Flow About Antarctica’s IceBy Michael D. Lemonick
It’s just two weeks since a paper in Nature flagged an ominous thinning of ice...
Wind farms warm soil at night by 0.72, so what?
I read the news today, oh boy.
Wind farms are causing global warming? No, but maybe a bit of...
El Niño explained
Warming, which is a global climatic phenomenon, responsible for flood and drought in various parts of the globe,...
Are hurricanes linked to ocean color?
A new study explores the relationship between tropical storms and the color of the ocean.
Areas of ocean with...
Tip of the Day
Keep eggs out of the fridge to save energy when cooking them
Good news: Important warm ocean currents apparently unaffected by melting ice sheets
image source: NASA/JPL
A NASA physical oceanographer has found no slow down in the giant ocean currents that bring warm water from the tropical Pacific to the North Atlantic. These currents, which function like a ‘conveyor belt’ driven by ocean salinity, make much of Europe far more habitable than it would be without the constant influx of warm water. The observation that these currents are not slowing and probably have not slowed since the early 90s is good news for warm-current dependent regions like the UK.
These latest findings, which draw on data from drifting sensors and satellites, support other recent evidence downplaying the likelihood of a warming climate precipitating an ice age.
From Science magazine article:
Scientists and the public had worried that global warming might be shutting down the conveyor flow and threatening a big chill for Europe. Now, judging by its behavior, the conveyor appears to be far less susceptible to throttling by climate change than once feared.
Andrew C. Revkin’s ‘Dot Earth’ blog on the New York Times also discusses the recent findings from NASA regarding ocean currents as well as increasing flows of fresh water from melting ice sheets. It’s one of those rare news or blog posts that actually has a comment section worth reading.
by Graham Land
Tags: climate, conveyor, current, currents, Europe, ice, NASA, ocean, warming
Other Greenfudge.org posts
Would you consider living in a dumpster?
You might if you saw this one. It doesn’t smell of rotting fish or have a layer of decomposed banana peels lining the floor. Quite the contrary – it’s got hardwood floors, a granite and stainless steel kitchen, a hideaway toilet, shower and a pop-up roof with windows. It’s even got an outdoor barbeque for those sunny days when you just don’t feel like cooking inside your dumpster home. Berkley, California artist Gregory Kloehn, who is apparently descended from Abraham Lincoln, took...
Australian Surfer Attacked Twice by Shark in Stable Condition
A surfer was attacked by a shark on Sunday—not once, but twice. The attack happened to off Conspicuous Cliff Beach, located south of Perth, Australia. Surfer Michael Bedford, who was rescued by a friend and some fishermen, suffered deep gashes to his right leg, but fortunately he is in stable condition at a hospital. Apparently, he caught a wave into the beach when the incident happened and his rescuers used the surfboard as a stretcher to carry him to safety. According to...
Norway and Guyana sign massive rainforest conservation deal
The tiny rich country of Norway and the tiny poor country of Guyana have made a deal to preserve the rainforests of the South American nation. The project will see an investment by Norway of £150 million (250 million USD or 167 million euros) with the aim of implementing the limitation of emissions and stopping deforestation in Guyana. A joint statement from both countries explained that the agreement will 'provide the world with a working example of how partnerships between developed...
Learning the Ropes: The beauty of eco-friendly green gardens
There’s something about gardening that really brings out the true beauty of our lush planet, isn’t there? While many boast of gardens that deliver high yields or record-breaking vegetables, something throughout the process simply doesn’t seem right. Sure, being pleasantly surprised by getting a larger than life tomato is one thing, but when these ends are met through the use of harmful chemicals, what’s the point? Interest is spiking in the practice of maintaining an eco-friendly green garden, and those...
WalkIt.com: Helping the U.K. Go Green One Step at a Time
How many of you enjoy walking? Maybe you do it for the exercise or maybe you like to walk so you can reduce your carbon footprint. Whatever the reason, if you live in the U.K., you might be interested in the website WalkIt.com. The people of walkit.com have created an urban walking route planner. Yeah, you’ve heard that before, but this one incorporates green information as well as health information. All you have to do is select your city and then enter...
Indonesian volcano Merapi erupts again, forcing more to evacuate and Singapore Airlines to cancel flights
Merapi, the Indonesian volcano on Java that has been eruption on and off since October 26th, has erupted again today, forcing even more people to evacuate the mountainsides and area close to the volcano. More than 200.000 people have already been evacuated from the area. Even the stubborn farmers that stayed behind to watch over their cattle are now taking the eruptions seriously and leaving the flanks of the Merapi volcano. Recent reports claim 128 people already died as a result...
Korea’s DMZ: Cold war greenery
The demilitarized zone that makes up the borderlands dividing North and South Korea is an unlikely (and unintentional) wildlife reserve. The DMZ is home to many species that are extinct on the remainder of the Korean peninsula. Full of landmines and guarded by armed soldiers from both the north and south, the area is obviously unwelcoming to human visitors. But this has allowed the forest to grow and wildlife to thrive for nearly 70 years. The rest of Korea is a different...
UN report: Third of Earth’s plant and animal species under threat of extinction
Economic growth and the quest for raw materials in developing nations are threatening to devastate global biodiversity, according to a forthcoming UN Global Biodiversity Outlook report. Ahmed Djoghlaf, head of the Convention on Biological Diversity is reported as claiming the current rate of extinction to be 1,000 times its 'natural historical background rate'. From an article in the Telegraph: Population growth, pollution and the spread of Western-style consumption are also blamed for hitting plant and animal populations. The dangerous behavior already practiced by industrialized...
Green roof technology breathes new life to the urban jungle
During the previous years, builders gave very little thought to the amenities that could be integrated into rooftop buildings. They focus mainly on the façade and interiors. But the need for green open spaces among urban dwellers has helped pave the way for the development of rooftop gardens in major buildings and skyscrapers. These blanket-like roofs have been around for centuries in Scandinavia and Iceland. And now that we are experiencing erratic climate changes, places such as Toronto in Canada have...
Dark Mountain Festival: The aftermath of UNCIVILISATION
UNCIVILISATION – aka the Dark Mountain Festival – took place over the last weekend in May at Llangollen, a small town in northwest Wales on the edge of the Berwyn Mountains. I’ve written a couple of times about the polemical Dark Mountain Project, a post-environmentalist movement that has given up on mainstream environmentalism, activism and politics – but not life, as I’ve been assured by DM founder Paul Kingsnorth – in favor of establishing a new movement and new way...
View all articles
You can also log in to post a comment.