The value of monitoring the oceans has become apparent in a report in Nature by Quirin Schiermeier.
He has shown that since the deployment of the RAPID monitoring array which is string of moored buoys across the Atlantic there has been a two thirds reduction in the speed of the Gulf Stream current.
He has shown that since the deployment of the RAPID monitoring array which is string of moored buoys across the Atlantic there has been a two thirds reduction in the speed of the Gulf Stream current.
A separate report from Florida shows that for the last five years the sea level has been rising at 1.27’ a year or 160 mm.
This is similar to the NOAA report which showed a similar sea level rise in the Northeast of the USA between 2009 and 2010.
This is similar to the NOAA report which showed a similar sea level rise in the Northeast of the USA between 2009 and 2010.
In the past sea levels in the oceans have risen 120 meters due to an 8C increase in temperature over 15,000 years or so. This rise was mainly due to melting ice but also partly due to expansion of the sea caused by the increased temperature. On a global scale today we know that the contribution of these two factors has produced a sea level rise of 3.2 mm a year caused by a steady increase in the volume of water and the contribution from Greenland and Antarctica is growing.
However there are other factors involved that can change the level of the sea locally. A steady trade wind can cause water to pile up on the downwind shore, the gravitational pull of the mass of ice in Greenland can pull extra water to its shores and also ocean currents and tides can cause water to pile up or sink away.
However there are other factors involved that can change the level of the sea locally. A steady trade wind can cause water to pile up on the downwind shore, the gravitational pull of the mass of ice in Greenland can pull extra water to its shores and also ocean currents and tides can cause water to pile up or sink away.
As the current of the Gulf Stream leaves the coast of the USA and heads towards Europe it sucks water from the shore of the USA and if that current declines in speed then this water will not be pulled so hard and will return to the shore causing a rise in sea level.
There is no overall increase in the quantity of water but these local changes can flood houses and towns that were previously dry.
There is no overall increase in the quantity of water but these local changes can flood houses and towns that were previously dry.
RSS Feed