Ocean circulation in North Atlantic is at its weakest for 1,500 years - and at levels that previously triggered a mini Ice Age, study warns
- Study shows the levels are at their lowest for 1,500 years
- Currents have a 'profound effect' on both North American and European climate
- Researcher found a similar weak signal during a period called the Little Ice Age, a cold spell observed between about 1600 and 1850 AD
source
One minute it's predicting Little Ice Age, the next
Global warming 'will make British summers 9F hotter but increased flooding could also force millions from their homes in winter', scientists warn
- Britain could bake in regular 40C heatwaves as a result of global warming
- Average summer temperatures could reach 24C by 2070, it's been revealed
- Warnings come from the UK Climate Projections 2018 report issued Monday
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/science...-2070-sparking-wildfires-water-shortages.html
I know this is a hot topic with most and is always strife with emotions. I don't participate in those discussions, I like to stick to the facts without the strife. I just want to make one correction that is one of the biggest climatological myths.
The below link is a very interesting read on the Gulf Stream-European climate myth
http://ocp.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/div/ocp/gs/
Excerpt:
A few times a year the British media of all stripes goes into a tizzy of panic when one climate scientist or another states that there is a possibility that the North Atlantic ocean circulation, of which the Gulf Stream is a major part, will slow down in coming years or even stop. Whether the scientists statements are measured or inflammatory the media invariably warns that this will plunge Britain and Europe into a new ice age, pictures of the icy shores of Labrador are shown, created film of English Channel ferries making their way through sea ice are broadcast... And so the circus continues year after year. Here is one
example.
The Gulf Stream-European climate myth
The panic is based on a long held belief of the British, other Europeans, Americans and, indeed, much of the world's population that the northward heat transport by the Gulf Stream is the reason why western Europe enjoys a mild climate, much milder than, say, that of eastern North America. This idea was actually originated by an American military man, Matthew Fontaine Maury, in the mid nineteenth century and has stuck since despite the absence of proof.
We now know this is a myth, the climatological equivalent of an urban legend. In a
detailed study published in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society in 2002, we demonstrated the limited role that ocean heat transport plays in determining regional climates around the Atlantic Ocean. Popular versions of this story can be found
here,
here and, in French,
here.
