New Discoveries Improve Climate Models
Underwater Ridges Impact Ocean’s Flow of Warm Water
New discoveries on how underwater ridges impact the ocean’s circulation system will help improve climate projections.
An underwater ridge can trap the flow of cold, dense water at the bottom of the ocean. Without the ridge, deepwater can flow freely and speed up the ocean circulation pattern, which generally increases the flow of warm surface water.
Warm water on the ocean’s surface makes the formation of sea ice difficult. With less ice present to reflect the sun, surface water will absorb more sunlight and continue to warm.
U.S. Geological Survey scientists looked back 3 million years, to the mid-Pliocene warm period, and studied the influence of the North Atlantic Ocean’s Greenland-Scotland Ridge on surface water temperature.
“Sea-surface temperatures in the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans were much warmer during the mid-Pliocene warm period than they are today, but climate models so far have been unable to fully understand and account for the cause of this large scale of warming,” said USGS scientist Marci Robinson. “Our research suggests that a lower height of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge during this geologic age was a contributor to the increase of poleward heat transport.”
“This is the first time the impact of a North Atlantic underwater ridge on the ocean circulation system was tested in a mid-Pliocene experiment,” said Robinson. “Understanding this process allows for more accurate predictions of factors such as ocean temperature and ice volume changes.”
Research was conducted on the mid-Pliocene because it is the most recent interval in the earth’s history in which global temperatures reached and remained at levels similar to those projected for the 21st century by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Therefore, it may be one of the closest analogs in helping to understand the earth’s current and future conditions.
The article was published in the journal, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, and can be viewed online. Any journalists who are not registered with this journal and cannot view this article can contact us to have a copy emailed to them.
This research contributes to the scientific foundation needed to make sound planning decisions in response to changes in climate and land use. To learn more, visit the Climate and Land Use Change website.
The USGS led this research through the Pliocene Research, Interpretation and Synoptic Mapping group. The primary collaborators in this research are the University of Leeds, University of Bristol and the British Geological Survey. More information about PRISM research is available online.
NO!
The water in those areas doesn’t continue to warm – it only gets cold slower. This is CO2 in the atmosphere redux. Slowing cooling down is not “warming”.
Inasmuch as abyssal currents don’t affect the surface thermodynamically, the whole idea of the depth of an ocean ridge controlling climate is very far-fetched. But it goes to show what sort of irrelevant paleo-speculation can attract funding in post-normal science simply by claiming a connection to climate.
So, with all Govt. Science Agencies studying Climate Modeling, who’s watching the store?
Or, better yet, is there a Govt. Science Agency that is NOT studying Climate Modeling?
“Research was conducted on the mid-Pliocene because it is the most recent interval in the earth’s history in which global temperatures reached and remained at levels similar to those projected for the 21st century by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Therefore, it may be one of the closest analogs in helping to understand the earth’s current and future conditions.”
Prognosis for future conditions based on Pliocene conditions looks good – should have continued rise of modern mammals, evolutionary improvements in brain, limbs, and teeth – which will bring about expansion of mammals as a group. Marine invertabrates and plants were barely distinguishable from today’s, so no worries there. (-;
Did they remember to model in continental uplift which produced drier climates? How were the clouds back then?
As a matter of fact, how are the clouds working in their models now? ha ha
“Research was conducted on the mid-Pliocene because it is the most recent interval in the earth’s history in which global temperatures reached and remained at levels similar to those projected for the 21st century by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Therefore, it may be one of the closest analogs in helping to understand the earth’s current and future conditions.”
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First comment: Apparently you have analogs, seeing as I paid for them, please produce them.
Second comment: What is an analog?.
Third comment: What is our current understanding of the Earth?.*
*(be careful how you answer this one, everyone is watching).
“how underwater ridges impact the ocean’s circulation system”
How underwater ridges affect the ocean’s circulation system isn’t interesting enough?
sky says: February 4, 2011 at 3:55 pm
Inasmuch as abyssal currents don’t affect the surface thermodynamically, the whole idea of the depth of an ocean ridge controlling climate is very far-fetched.
I would disagree. Greenland – Scotland ridge is fundamental to the ‘warm-cold water ratio’ flow in the Arctic-Atlantic connection, as you can see here
jknapp says:
February 4, 2011 at 11:48 am
“This is the first time the impact of a North Atlantic underwater ridge on the ocean circulation system was tested in a mid-Pliocene experiment,”
Would all scientists everywhere quit calling computer model runs “Experiments”
My sediments exactly.
*****
Mike Haseler says:
February 4, 2011 at 3:57 am
It really annoys me that WUWT should present a picture perpetuating the myth that “turning of the gulf stream will turn the UK in a deep freeze”.
*****
True, the circular motion of the Atlantic currents will continue. But keep in mind that a mere 20k yrs ago, Britain was covered in glaciers & surrounded by sea-ice. Something caused a deep freeze.
IMO during glacial periods the north edge of the N Atlantic loop may have migrated southward, meeting S Europe & practically all the flow turning south along NW Africa. Heat movement into the Arctic would have been greatly diminished. Why that would happen & if it was a cause or effect, I’m not sure.
vukcevic says:
February 5, 2011 at 4:41 am
I’m well aware of the importance of the ridge to the warm/cold ratio at considerable depth. This has precious little thermodynamic influence, however, on surface climate. The snail’s pace effects of THC diffuse greatly over time at depth and are not the coherent “conveyor belt” player that many with little oceanographic knowledge make it out to be.
In the earliest physical modeling I ever engaged in I always accounted for all the cracks and crevices, nooks and crannies, that’d screw with the flow of motion of the fluidic body.
OMFG, but was I before my time? :p