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On 04/10/2005 Software Scientific's Concept Engine ^TM read 1,000 documents and considered 67,546 links

Research based on What is the likelihood of a catastrophic shutdown of the North Atlantic Conveyor? on the area of Climatology, global warming, climate change, Gulf Stream, ocean currents

Answers | Relevant Documents

Answers

Answer	X-Ref
Atlantic Current Shutdown Could Disrupt Ocean Food Chain	Atlantic Current Shutdown Could Disrupt Ocean Food Chain
Atlantic Current Shutdown Could Disrupt Ocean Food Chain	Atlantic Current Shutdown Could Disrupt Ocean Food Chain
ATLANTIC CURRENT SHUTDOWN COULD DISRUPT OCEAN FOOD CHAIN	04-12-05 ATLANTIC CURRENT SHUTDOWN COULD DISRUPT OCEAN FOOD CHAIN
The Conveyor warms North Atlantic regions by as much as 5?	portland imc - 2005.05.09 - Did the film Day After Tomorrow get it at least partly right?
The start of North Atlantic Deep Water formation April 2001	Earth-Pages
Winters in the North Atlantic region get significantly colder.	Triggering Abrupt Climate Change
Their study focused on "North Atlantic Subtropical Mode Water."	Duke Scientists Explain Gaps In Nutrient Availability Within North Atlantic
Hurricanes in the North Atlantic Ocean were first named in 1950.	Today News HOME PAGE: hot news world,Health,Technology,Geeks, Business and Science
Early Oligocene initiation of North Atlantic Deep Water formation.	Earth-Pages Archive News, Climate
If you look at the North Atlantic ocean-wide-the problem is huge."	Researchers Reveal Massive Reduction In Productivity Of The North Atlantic
There is a freshening of the North Atlantic visible since the 1950s.	RealClimate » Gulf Stream slowdown? Est-ce que le Gulf Stream ralentit ?
The Icelandic Low is the primary weather system in the North Atlantic.	Cambridge Conference Correspondence
It moderates Earth's climate, particularly in the North Atlantic region.	Abrupt Climate Change: Strong Danger?
Create an image that encompasses the Eastern U.S. and the North Atlantic.	The Gulf Stream
Grossman : Today, there's no such water poised to flood the North Atlantic.	American RadioWorks - Climate of Uncertainty
The thermohaline circulation heats the North Atlantic and Northern Europe.	Thermohaline Circulation - Fact Sheet by Stefan Rahmstorf
This water is known to oceanographers as North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW).	Thermohaline circulation
A slowdown or shutdown would have enormous consequences for populations on both sides of the North Atlantic.	Part II: Now
All RSS Feeds Endangered North Atlantic Whale Gets a Boost	Endangered North Atlantic Whale Gets a Boost (washingtonpost.com)
It moderates Earth’s climate, particularly in the North Atlantic region.	Ocean & Climate Change Institute - Abrupt Climate Change
How Much Excess Fresh Water Was Added to the North Atlantic in Recent Decades?	WHOI : Media Relations : Press Release : How Much Excess Fresh Water Was Added to the North Atlantic in Recent Decades?
But what is going on with the thermohaline circulation in the north Atlantic ?	Chapter 7 Part I - Paleoclimate
"Global warming might cause a shutdown of currents in the North Atlantic and cause Europe to cool," he said. "	Global Warming Could Trigger Cascade Of Climatic Changes
What are the roles of the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans in Abrupt Climate Change?	Ocean & Climate Change Institute - Overview

Relevant Documents

These documents are arranged in order of relevance to your query. See also Answers | Relevant Documents

Document	Summary

portland imc - 2005.05.09 - Did the film Day After Tomorrow get it at least partly right?: 81% (1)
http: //portland. indymedia. org/ en/ 2005/ 05/ 317101. shtml: unknown date

portland imc - 2005.05.09 - Did the film Day After Tomorrow get it at least partly right?

Chaotic Climate: 80% (2)
http: //www. dhushara. com/ book/ diversit/ extra/ chaoclim/ chao. htm: 26/5/2004

Chaotic Climate

ⁱ In the Atlantic, warm upper waters flow northward, reaching the vicinity of Greenland [...],..., allowing them to sink & form a current that flows all the way to the Southern Ocean, adjacent to Antarctica.ⁱ In the Atlantic, this northward counterflow is rapidly entrained into the much stronger southward current of the conveyor.ⁱ Salt makes the upper layers of water denser; as a result, they descend in the North Atlantic & begin a global circulation pattern that effectively redistributes the salt throughout the world's oceans.ⁱ GLOBAL CONVEYOR (...) carries cold, salty water, initially formed in the North Atlantic, throughout the world's oceans (...).ⁱ Today the waters of the North Atlantic conveyor are poor in cadmium & rich in carbon 13, whereas deep waters in the rest of the ocean are rich in cadmium & poor in carbon 13.ⁱ 4 occurred at times corresponding to significant changes in the climate of the North Atlantic basin One of Heinrich's layers marks the end of the 2^nd-to-last major glacial cycle, & another that of the most recent cycle.ⁱ Atmospheric models indicate clearly that climate shifts related to changes in the amount of heat delivered to the atmosphere over the North Atlantic would be limited to the surrounding regions.ⁱ A conveyor shutdown or comparable drastic change is unlikely, but were it to occur, the impact would be catastrophic.ⁱ

Ocean & Climate Change Institute - Abrupt Climate Change: 80% (3)
http: //www. whoi. edu/ institutes/ occi/ currenttopics/ climatechange_ wef. html: 15/12/2004

Ocean & Climate Change Institute - Abrupt Climate Change

ⁱ ⁱ

The Ocean Conveyor is propelled by the sinking of cold, salty (...) waters in the North Atlantic Ocean (...).ⁱ

ⁱ Heat-bearing Gulf Stream waters (...) would no longer flow into the North Atlantic, & European & North American winters would become more severe.

ⁱ These currents, collectively known as the Ocean Conveyor, distribute vast quantities of heat around our planet, & thus play a fundamental role in governing Earth’s climate.ⁱ The Gulf Stream, a limb of the Ocean Conveyor, carries an enormous volume of heat-laden, salty water up the East Coast of the United States, & then northeast toward Europe.ⁱ Conveyor circulation increases the northward transport of warmer waters in the Gulf Stream by about 50 ^%.ⁱ

ⁱ This has resulted in a freshening of the deep ocean in the North Atlantic, which in the past disrupted the Ocean Conveyor & caused abrupt climate changes.

ⁱ Computer models simulating ocean-atmosphere climate dynamics indicate that the North Atlantic region would cool 3° to 5° Celsius if Conveyor circulation were totally disrupted.ⁱ ⁱ Thus, the climate of the North Atlantic region may rapidly return to one that more resembles today’s—even as other parts of the world, particularly less-developed regions, experience the unmitigated brunt of global warming.ⁱ

Abrupt Climate Change: Strong Danger?: 80% (4)
http: //www. shalomctr. org/ index. cfm/ action/ read/ section/ Oiloholic/ article/ article557. html: unknown date

Abrupt Climate Change: Strong Danger?

ⁱ The Ocean Conveyor is propelled by the sinking of cold, salty (...) waters in the North Atlantic Ocean (...).ⁱ Heat-bearing Gulf Stream waters (...) would no longer flow into the North Atlantic, & European & North American winters would become more severe.ⁱ These currents, collectively known as the Ocean Conveyor, distribute vast quantities of heat around our planet, & thus play a fundamental role in governing Earth's climate. ⁱ The Gulf Stream, a limb of the Ocean Conveyor, carries an enormous volume of heat-laden, salty water up the East Coast of the United States, & then northeast toward Europe. ⁱ Conveyor circulation increases the northward transport of warmer waters in the Gulf Stream by about 50 ^%.ⁱ This has resulted in a freshening of the deep ocean in the North Atlantic, which in the past disrupted the Ocean Conveyor & caused abrupt climate changes.ⁱ Computer models simulating ocean-atmosphere climate dynamics indicate that the North Atlantic region would cool 3 to 5 Celsius if Conveyor circulation were totally disrupted.ⁱ Thus, the climate of the North Atlantic region may rapidly return to one that more resembles today's-even as other parts of the world, particularly less-developed regions, experience the unmitigated brunt of global warming.ⁱ

EBSCOhost: 79% (5)
http: //www. csun. edu/ ~hmc60533/ CSUN_ 311/ article_ references/ ScAm_ Nov95_ ChaoticClimate. htm: 2/9/2005

EBSCOhost

ⁱ In the Atlantic, warm upper waters flow northward, reaching the vicinity of Greenland [...],..., allowing them to sink & form a current that flows all the way to the Southern Ocean, adjacent to Antarctica.ⁱ Salt makes the upper layers of water denser; as a result, they descend in the North Atlantic & begin a global circulation pattern that effectively redistributes the salt throughout the world's oceans. ⁱ The transfer of this heat to Arctic air masses over the North Atlantic accounts for the anomalously warm climate enjoyed by Europe. ⁱ Today the waters of the North Atlantic conveyor are poor in cadmium & rich in carbon 13, whereas deep waters in the rest of the ocean are rich in cadmium & poor in carbon 13. ⁱ 4 occurred at fumes corresponding to significant changes in the climate of the North Atlantic basin.ⁱ Atmospheric models indicate clearly that climate shifts related to changes in the amount of heat delivered to the atmosphere over the North Atlantic would be limited to the surrounding regions.ⁱ A conveyor shutdown or comparable drastic change is unlikely, but were it to occur, the impact would be catastrophic.ⁱ DIAGRAM: GLOBAL CONVEYOR (...) carries cold, salty water, initially formed in the North Atlantic, throughout the world's oceans (...).ⁱ

Disaster Flick Exaggerates Speed Of Ice Age: 78% (6)
http: //www. sciencedaily. com/ releases/ 2004/ 05/ 040512044611. htm: 27/9/2005

Disaster Flick Exaggerates Speed Of Ice Age

ⁱ

ⁱ Shutdown Of Circulation Pattern Could Be Disastrous, Researchers Say (...) -- If global warming shuts down the thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean, the result could be catastrophic climate change. Ocean Circulation Shut Down By Melting Glaciers After Last Ice Age (...) -- At the end of the last Ice Age 13 to 11.5 thousand years ago, the North Atlantic Deep Water circulation system that drives the Gulf Stream may have shut down as of melting glaciers that added ... > Abrupt Climate Change: New Research Supports Hypothesis That Ocean Currents Redistributed Heat During Rapid Warming & Cooling (...) -- A paper published this week in the journal Science supports the hypothesis that heat transfer by ocean currents -- rather than global heating or cooling -- may have been responsible for the global ... >

ⁱ Lozier is a principal investigator in a 5-year, National Science Foundation-funded study of the circulation pathways of North Atlantic currents, & has published findings from her work in Science, the Journal of Physical Oceanography & other leading journals. ⁱ The oceans store a tremendous amount of heat from the sun, & their currents act like a giant conveyor belt, redistributing that heat around the globe, she explained. The Gulf Stream, eg^?, carries tropical warmth far into the North Atlantic, giving western Europe a mild, moist climate despite its northerly latitude. ⁱ Her research -- including a paper in the Jan 2004 issue of Geophysical Research Letters that documents the warming & salinification of Mediterranean waters -- has identified subtle changes taking place in North Atlantic waters over the past 50 years.ⁱ "If this continues, it could, in theory, disrupt the circulation of North Atlantic currents & cause them to slow or eventually shut down," Lozier said. "

Shutdown Of Circulation Pattern Could Be Disastrous, Researchers Say: 78% (7)
http: //www. sciencedaily. com/ releases/ 2004/ 12/ 041219153611. htm: 27/9/2005

Shutdown Of Circulation Pattern Could Be Disastrous, Researchers Say

Jan 26-30: 78% (8)
http: //www. bren. ucsb. edu/ news/ press/ Zaelke_ DayAfterTomorrow_ SBIndependent_ 6- 10- 04. htm: 11/6/2004

Jan 26-30

ScienceDaily: Related Stories: 77% (9)
http: //www. sciencedaily. com/ related. php? filename= 040101090738: unknown date

ScienceDaily: Related Stories

Ocean Life Depends On Single Circulation Pattern In Southern Hemisphere: 77% (10)
http: //www. sciencedaily. com/ releases/ 2004/ 01/ 040101090738. htm: 27/9/2005

Ocean Life Depends On Single Circulation Pattern In Southern Hemisphere

ⁱ

ⁱ Shutdown Of Circulation Pattern Could Be Disastrous, Researchers Say (...) -- If global warming shuts down the thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean, the result could be catastrophic climate change. Ocean Circulation Shut Down By Melting Glaciers After Last Ice Age (...) -- At the end of the last Ice Age 13 to 11.5 thousand years ago, the North Atlantic Deep Water circulation system that drives the Gulf Stream may have shut down as of melting glaciers that added ... > Atlantic Current Shutdown Could Disrupt Ocean Food Chain (...) -- If increased precipitation & sea surface heating from global warming disrupts the Atlantic Conveyer current -- as some scientists predict -- the effect on the ocean food chain in the Atlantic & ... >

The results suggest that ocean life may be more sensitive to climate change than previously believed as most global warming predictions indicate that major ocean circulation patterns will change.ⁱ Sarmiento & colleagues identified what amounts to an enormous conveyor belt that carries nutrient-rich seawater southward in the deep ocean, brings it to the surface in the Antarctic Ocean where the density layer barrier is weak & ships it north. The SAMW is responsible for feeding nearly all the world's oceans, except for the North Pacific,..., the researchers found. One now wonders how global change will alter the efficiency of this pathway." Sarmiento said the research group "is now hard at work investigating the details of this nutrient circulation pattern with an eye to examining how it might respond to global warming in model simulations."

ScienceDaily: Related Stories: 77% (11)
http: //www. sciencedaily. com/ related. php? filename= 051001101225: unknown date

ScienceDaily: Related Stories

University Of California Study Sheds New Light On Climate-change Processes: 77% (12)
http: //www. sciencedaily. com/ releases/ 2004/ 03/ 040311071131. htm: 27/9/2005

University Of California Study Sheds New Light On Climate-change Processes

ⁱ

Shutdown Of Circulation Pattern Could Be Disastrous, Researchers Say (...) -- If global warming shuts down the thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean, the result could be catastrophic climate change. Ocean Circulation Shut Down By Melting Glaciers After Last Ice Age (...) -- At the end of the last Ice Age 13 to 11.5 thousand years ago, the North Atlantic Deep Water circulation system that drives the Gulf Stream may have shut down as of melting glaciers that added ... > Abrupt Climate Change: New Research Supports Hypothesis That Ocean Currents Redistributed Heat During Rapid Warming & Cooling (...) -- A paper published this week in the journal Science supports the hypothesis that heat transfer by ocean currents -- rather than global heating or cooling -- may have been responsible for the global ... > ⁱ

This research reinforces concerns that global warming, by melting the glacial ice of Greenland, could quickly & profoundly change salinity & temperatures in the north Atlantic Ocean.ⁱ The authors hypothesize that elevated Caribbean salinity,..., amplifies the heat transport system by increasing the deep-ocean circulation rate. When the North Atlantic cools, Caribbean salinity builds up as the deep ocean circulation drops to a fraction of its previous rate & the Gulf Stream no longer transports salty water away. ⁱ They then compared those salinity cycles with published reconstructions of ice-age oscillations of deep Atlantic Ocean circulation patterns.ⁱ Curry's study showed that in the past 50 years, salinity in the tropical Atlantic Ocean has risen & salinity in the north Atlantic has fallen.ⁱ

Atlantic Current Shutdown Could Disrupt Ocean Food Chain: 77% (13)
http: //www. sciencedaily. com/ releases/ 2005/ 04/ 050412213152. htm: 27/9/2005

Atlantic Current Shutdown Could Disrupt Ocean Food Chain

Ocean Circulation Shut Down By Melting Glaciers After Last Ice Age: 76% (14)
http: //www. sciencedaily. com/ releases/ 2001/ 11/ 011120041942. htm: 27/9/2005

Ocean Circulation Shut Down By Melting Glaciers After Last Ice Age

ⁱ Since the Gulf Stream brings warm tropical waters north, Western Europe cooled.

University Of California Study Sheds New Light On Climate-change Processes (...) -- A new study from the University of California shows, for the 1^st time, that the deep-ocean circulation system of the north Atlantic, which controls ice-age cycles of cold & warm periods in the ... > Shutdown Of Circulation Pattern Could Be Disastrous, Researchers Say (...) -- If global warming shuts down the thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean, the result could be catastrophic climate change.ⁱ Global Warming Could Trigger Cascade Of Climatic Changes (...) -- Global warming & the partial melting of polar ice sheets can dramatically affect not only sea levels but also Earth's climate, in ways that may be complex, rapid & difficult to adjust to, ... >

ⁱ "For the 1^st time, its ^?shown that realistic additions of glacial meltwater into the North Atlantic would have shutdown North Atlantic Deep Water production over a period of a few 100 years if the initial ocean circulation was somewhat weaker than that of today," said David Rind, lead author of the study & a senior climate',.ⁱ When the Gulf Stream moves warm surface water from the equator north through the Atlantic, the water cools, gets saltier due to evaporation & becomes dense.ⁱ But when freshwater gets mixed with the salty water in the North Atlantic, it makes the water less dense & slows the overturning process & the ocean circulation. ⁱ The North Atlantic circulation may already be weakening due to freshwater rainfall additions associated with global warming," Rind said. ⁱ

The Next Ice Age ?: 74% (15)
http: //www. crawford2000. co. uk/ iceage. htm: 19/2/2005

The Next Ice Age ?

SSI Update: Abrupt Climate Change, and more: 74% (16)
http: //144. 16. 65. 194/ hpg/ envis/ doc99html/ globalcli240516. html: 16/5/2004

SSI Update: Abrupt Climate Change, and more

ⁱ Heat is transported to the region by a global ocean circulation pattern variably known as thermohaline circulation, the North Atlantic heat pump, or the "Great Ocean Conveyor Belt."ⁱ As the Earth warms, melting of ice caps & glaciers, increased precipitation, & other inflows of fresh water to the North Atlantic Ocean may weaken or shut down thermohaline circulation.

ⁱ This warm, salty water flows northward to join the Gulf Stream, traveling up the Eastern coast of the United States & across the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic region.ⁱ Once this warm, salty water reaches the North Atlantic & releases its heat, it again becomes cold & dense, & sinks to the deep ocean.ⁱ Indeed, during some of the abrupt events in Earth's past climate, scientists find evidence of large catastrophic flows of fresh water into the North Atlantic from the melting of glaciers & ice caps (9), & due to flooding from glacier-dammed lakes (10).ⁱ A: Media coverage has tended to cite a shutdown of the Gulf Stream as the mechanism for abrupt climate change, but this is not fully accurate. The Gulf Stream is a strong ocean current that flows north along the coast of the U.S. then crosses the North Atlantic to Western Europe, forming part of a larger clockwise circulation of surface waters in the North Atlantic Ocean.ⁱ

American RadioWorks - Climate of Uncertainty: 73% (17)
http: //americanradioworks. publicradio. org/ features/ climate/ transcript. html: unknown date

American RadioWorks - Climate of Uncertainty

ⁱ They say the change might cripple a massive ocean current known as the Great Conveyor. & if the Great Conveyer stopped, it could cause catastrophic climate changes like sudden cooling in some areas & devastating droughts in others.ⁱ Wally Broecker has proposed that changes in the Great Conveyor altered the North Atlantic's climate & caused Greenland's abrupt events. ⁱ If a lot of fresh water was mixed into the north Atlantic, the current would be too buoyant to sink, jamming the conveyor's piston.ⁱ By then global warming will probably have made the north Atlantic too warm to freeze over as it did in the past.ⁱ Grossman : The huge floods that caused some of the past shutdowns were dozens of times bigger than the amount of water that global warming could add to the north Atlantic argues Weaver.ⁱ Even if the Great Conveyor of the Atlantic current never shuts down, scientists believe the world may still have to contend with extreme climate change.ⁱ

Climate-l News #19: 73% (18)
http: //www. iisd. ca/ climate- l/ Climate- L_ News_ 19. html: 17/2/2004

Climate-l News #19

Part II: Now: 73% (19)
http: //www. killerinourmidst. com/ now. html: unknown date

Part II: Now

ⁱ ⁱ ⁱ ⁱ ⁱ The North Atlantic data are possibly the most startling, as that ocean seems to be most vulnerable to global warming, & most able to impact climatic conditions on its periphery & worldwide, as of its major role in driving global thermohaline circulation. As a result of the warming, the ecology of the North Atlantic seafloor may be changing.ⁱ

ⁱ The ultimate cause of the breeding failure most probably is the warming of the eastern North Atlantic, which has pushed warm-water phytoplankton some 1000 kilometers (...) north -- about a 10° latitude shift -- in just 40 years (...), & a temperature increase of about 2°C (...) in the North Sea over the past 20 (...).ⁱ

ⁱ Indeed, between 50°S (...) & 60°N (...), upper ocean temperatures in the western Atlantic (...) have risen about 1.0°C (...). An increase in equatorial precipitation near the African coast, possibly also due to global warming, has also been noted (...).

ⁱ Both the North Atlantic, in which Katrina formed, & the Gulf of Mexico,..., have been warmed by the action of anthropogenic greenhouse gases.ⁱ

ⁱ It seems important to re-emphasize that the kind of North Atlantic cooling projected by Broecker is, paradoxically, the result of global warming.ⁱ Finally, in the most catastrophic event, at the end of the Permian, there was a stunning global warming, a euxinic ocean that lasted for millions of years, & the most massive of all mass extinctions. ⁱ ⁱ

Earthbeat:: 15 May 2004 - Hollywood Goes Green: 72% (20)
http: //www. abc. net. au/ rn/ science/ earth/ stories/ s1105633. htm: unknown date

Earthbeat:: 15 May 2004 - Hollywood Goes Green

From The New Yorker . Three parts, starting in the issue of April 25, 2005 THE CLIMATE OF MANI by ELIZABETH KOLBERT: 72% (21)
http: //216. 239. 59. 104/ search? q= cache: m16zCOc71M0J: fccsanrafael. org/ Resources/ Climate: unknown date

From The New Yorker . Three parts, starting in the issue of April 25, 2005 THE CLIMATE OF MANI by ELIZABETH KOLBERT

Triggering Abrupt Climate Change: 72% (22)
http: //mitosyfraudes. 8k. com/ Calen/ TriggerIceAge. html: unknown date

Triggering Abrupt Climate Change

More on Featured Events from CCC:: 71% (23)
http: //www. tufts. edu/ tie/ tci/ CalendarFeature. htm: 2/11/2004

MIT Global Change Joint Program: Publication Abstracts

The model consists of a northern high latitudes box, a tropical box, & a southern high latitudes box,..., tropical & southern Atlantic ocean.ⁱ The penetration of surface heat flux to the deep ocean in our OGCM occurs mainly in the North Atlantic & the Southern Ocean, since both the sensitivity of DOHU to the surface heat flux & the magnitude of anomalous surface heat flux are large in these 2 regions.ⁱ A positive sensitivity to the downward net surface heat flux is found only in the North Atlantic north of 40°N & the Southern Ocean.ⁱ Nutrient gradients in the western North Atlantic Ocean: Relationship to microbial community structure & comparison to patterns in the Pacific Ocean (...) Deep Sea Research Part I 48(11): 2373-2395 . Studies of nitrogen & phosphorus dynamics in the oligotrophic surface waters of the western North Atlantic Ocean,. Here we report the application of high-sensitivity analytical methods — determinations of nitrate + nitrite (N + N) by chemiluminescence & soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) by the magnesium induced co-precipitation (MAGIC) protocol — to surface waters along a transect from the Sargasso Sea at 26 o N through the Gulf Stream at 37 o N, including sampling at the JGOFS Bermuda Atlantic- ().ⁱ A global ocean general circulation model of idealized geometry, combined with an atmospheric model based on observed transports of heat, momentum, & moisture, is used to explore the sensitivity of the global conveyor belt circulation to the surface freshwater fluxes, in particular the effects of meridional atmospheric moisture transports. The numerical results indicate that the equilibrium strength of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formation increases as the global freshwater transports increase.

Orion > Orion Magazine > January | February 2005 > Peter deMenocal > Global Warming: 71% (25)
http: //www. oriononline. org/ pages/ om/ 05- 1om/ deMenocal. html: 1/7/2005

Orion > Orion Magazine > January | February 2005 > Peter deMenocal > Global Warming

ⁱ ⁱ ⁱ ⁱ ⁱ ⁱ In some climate model simulations of our future, after a gradual, decades-long warming & freshening trend in the North Atlantic due to increased Arctic warming, ice melting, & river runoff, this ocean conveyor slows down abruptly -- within several decades.ⁱ A shift in the ocean conveyor, once initiated, is essentially irreversible over a time period of many decades to centuries, & would permanently alter the climatic norms for some of the most densely populated & highly developed regions of the world, multiplying the risks -- & magnifying the effects -- of major climatic disruptions from global warming. While most climate models indicate the conveyor is responsive to global warming, few models project a complete conveyor shutdown within the next century. When the Earth was thawing out of the last ice age about 14,500 years ago due to gradual, periodic changes in the Earth's orbit, the melting of large ice sheets on the continents funneled large volumes of fresh water into the North Atlantic. Analyses of ice cores, deep-sea sediment cores, & other geologic evidence have shown that the surge of river runoff did in fact form a freshwater lid over the North Atlantic,...,800 & 11,700 years ago.ⁱ A report commissioned in 2002 by the Pentagon entitled Imagining the Unthinkable explored a scenario in which continued global warming leads to the eventual shutdown of the conveyor after 2010.ⁱ

ⁱ After Tomorrow BY PETER deMENOCAL Ignoring global warming doesn't change the science; it just leaves us unprepared for the potentially catastrophic consequences.

BBC - Science & Nature - Horizon - Big Chill: 71% (26)
http: //www. bbc. co. uk/ science/ horizon/ 2003/ bigchilltrans. shtml: unknown date

BBC - Science & Nature - Horizon - Big Chill

PlanetX News 020704: 71% (27)
http: //www. survivalcenter. com/ planetx020704. html: 7/2/2004

PlanetX News 020704

Southwest Regional Partnership for Carbon Sequestration: 71% (28)
http: //www. southwestcarbonpartnership. org/ news. html: 6/9/2005

Southwest Regional Partnership for Carbon Sequestration

ⁱ Pumping out warm, moist air, this "great conveyor" current gets cooler & denser as it moves north. That causes the current to sink in the North Atlantic, where it heads south again in the ocean depths.ⁱ But when the climate warms, according to the theory, fresh water from melting Arctic glaciers flows into the North Atlantic, lowering the current's salinity—& its density & tendency to sink.ⁱ As a result, the conveyor loses its main motive force & can rapidly collapse, turning off the huge heat pump & altering the climate over much of the Northern Hemisphere.ⁱ Here is an abridged version: A total shutdown of the ocean conveyor might lead to a big chill like the Younger Dryas, when icebergs appeared as far south as the coast of Portugal.ⁱ The event is thought to have been triggered by a conveyor collapse after a time of rising temperatures not unlike today's global warming.ⁱ

Explore ways to offset abrupt cooling—today it appears easier to warm than to cool the climate via human activities, so there may be "geo-engineering" options available to prevent a catastrophic temperature drop.

Rainforestweb.org News Section: 71% (29)
http: //www. rainforestweb. org/ newsitem. php? id= 662& area=: unknown date

Rainforestweb.org News Section

The Heat Is Online: 71% (30)
http: //www. heatisonline. org/ contentserver/ objecthandlers/ index. cfm? ID= 4569& Method= Full& PageCall= &Title= Pentagon Plans for Rapid Climate Change Event: Fortune Magazine& Cache= False: unknown date

The Heat Is Online

Climate Collapse: The Pentagon's Weather Nightmare - Independent Media TV: 71% (31)
http: //www. independent- media. tv/ itemprint. cfm? fmedia_ id= 5548& fcategory_ desc= Environment: unknown date

Climate Collapse: The Pentagon's Weather Nightmare - Independent Media TV

This article appears in the November 15: 71% (32)
http: //muhammadfarms. com/ News- Feb9- 14- 2004. htm: 16/2/2004

This article appears in the November 15

Greenhouse effect - Climate Collapse: 71% (33)
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Greenhouse effect - Climate Collapse

Spiritwheels.com - Writers - Kiara - Merging with the New Earth - Wistancia Stone: 71% (35)
http: //www. spiritwheels. com/ writers/ kiara/ articles/ march04/ the_ pentagons_ weather_ nightmare. html: 19/4/2004

Spiritwheels.com - Writers - Kiara - Merging with the New Earth - Wistancia Stone

ⁱ Pumping out warm, moist air, this "great conveyor" current gets cooler & denser as it moves north. That causes the current to sink in the North Atlantic, where it heads south again in the ocean depths.ⁱ But when the climate warms, according to the theory, fresh water from melting Arctic glaciers flows into the North Atlantic, lowering the current's salinity & its density & tendency to sink.ⁱ As a result, the conveyor loses its main motive force & can rapidly collapse, turning off the huge heat pump & altering the climate over much of the Northern Hemisphere.ⁱ Here is an abridged version: A total shutdown of the ocean conveyor might lead to a big chill like the Younger Dryas, when icebergs appeared as far south as the coast of Portugal.ⁱ The event is thought to have been triggered by a conveyor collapse after a time of rising temperatures not unlike today's global warming.ⁱ Explore ways to offset abrupt cooling - today it appears easier to warm than to cool the climate via human activities, so there may be "geo-engineering" options available to prevent a catastrophic temperature drop.ⁱ

Pentagon Report Says Global Warming and Climate Change Are Major Security Threats: 71% (36)
http: //reclaimdemocracy. org/ articles_ 2004/ pentagon_ report_ global_ warming. html: unknown date

Pentagon Report Says Global Warming and Climate Change Are Major Security Threats

EARTH DEFENSE RELATED SITES: 71% (37)
http: //www. barry. warmkessel. com/ barry/ 6related. html: 4/10/2005

EARTH DEFENSE RELATED SITES

Chapter 7 Part I - Paleoclimate: 71% (38)
http: //www. usna. edu/ Oceanography/ courses/ SO426_ maksym/ text/ chapter7_ paleoclimate. htm: 16/11/2004

Chapter 7 Part I - Paleoclimate

RealClimate » Gulf Stream slowdown? Est-ce que le Gulf Stream ralentit ?: 70% (39)
http: //www. realclimate. org/ index. php? p= 159: 4/10/2005

RealClimate » Gulf Stream slowdown? Est-ce que le Gulf Stream ralentit ?

International Clearinghouse for Hydrogen Based Commerce - Climate Change?: 70% (40)
http: //www. ch2bc. org/ index12. htm: 3/10/2005

International Clearinghouse for Hydrogen Based Commerce - Climate Change?

Junkscience.com -- Archives, March 2005: 70% (41)
http: //www. junkscience. com/ mar05. htm: 12/4/2005

Junkscience.com -- Archives, March 2005

Earth-Pages Archive News, Climate: 70% (42)
http: //www. earth- pages. com/ archive/ climate. asp: unknown date

Earth-Pages Archive News, Climate

New Estimates of the Economic Impacts of Climate Change I. Introduction and Background: 69% (43)
http: //216. 239. 59. 104/ search? q= cache: HOZgesHjx4EJ: www. econ. yale. edu/ ~nordhaus/ homepage/ impact: unknown date

New Estimates of the Economic Impacts of Climate Change I. Introduction and Background

Atlantic Current Shutdown Could Disrupt Ocean Food Chain: 69% (44)
http: //www. sciencedaily. com/ print. php? url= /releases/ 2005/ 04/ 050412213152. htm: unknown date

Atlantic Current Shutdown Could Disrupt Ocean Food Chain

ⁱ In a worst case scenario, global productivity of phytoplankton could decrease by as much as 20 ^% & in some areas, eg^? the North Atlantic, the loss could hit 50 ^%. In his sophisticated computer model, Schmittner doesn't predict that the Atlantic Conveyer current,..., will be disrupted.ⁱ The Atlantic Conveyer current has the strongest impact in the North Atlantic, but its ^?a global phenomenon, Schmittner said. Surface waters from the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Ocean & the southern Atlantic are pulled northward where they are cooled by the atmosphere in the North Atlantic.ⁱ That would not only disrupt the Atlantic Conveyer current, Schmittner said, it would prevent nutrient-rich waters from triggering phytoplankton growth. ⁱ The shutdown of the Atlantic Conveyer current isn't just idle speculation.ⁱ

04-12-05 ATLANTIC CURRENT SHUTDOWN COULD DISRUPT OCEAN FOOD CHAIN: 69% (45)
http: //oregonstate. edu/ dept/ ncs/ newsarch/ 2005/ Apr05/ plankton. htm: unknown date

04-12-05 ATLANTIC CURRENT SHUTDOWN COULD DISRUPT OCEAN FOOD CHAIN

ATLANTIC CURRENT SHUTDOWN COULD DISRUPT OCEAN FOOD CHAIN ⁱ In a worst case scenario, global productivity of phytoplankton could decrease by as much as 20 ^% & in some areas, eg^? the North Atlantic, the loss could hit 50 ^%. In his sophisticated computer model, Schmittner doesn't predict that the Atlantic Conveyer current,..., will be disrupted.ⁱ The Atlantic Conveyer current has the strongest impact in the North Atlantic, but its ^?a global phenomenon, Schmittner said. Surface waters from the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Ocean & the southern Atlantic are pulled northward where they are cooled by the atmosphere in the North Atlantic.ⁱ That would not only disrupt the Atlantic Conveyer current, Schmittner said, it would prevent nutrient-rich waters from triggering phytoplankton growth.ⁱ The shutdown of the Atlantic Conveyer current isn't just idle speculation.ⁱ

Ocean & Climate Change Institute - Abrupt Climate Change - New Study Reports Large-scale Salinity Changes in the Oceans: 69% (46)
http: //www. whoi. edu/ institutes/ occi/ currenttopics/ abruptclimate_ rcurry_ pr. html: 24/5/2005

Ocean & Climate Change Institute - Abrupt Climate Change - New Study Reports Large-scale Salinity Changes in the Oceans

ⁱ It could also continue to freshen northern North Atlantic Ocean waters -- to a point that could disrupt ocean circulation & trigger further climate changes. ⁱ Among other possible climate impacts, an accelerated evaporation /precipitation cycle would continue to freshen northern North Atlantic waters--a linchpin & potential Achilles' heel in Earth's climate system.ⁱ The plunge of this great mass of cold, salty waters helps drive a global ocean circulation system, often called the Ocean Conveyor. This Conveyor helps draw warm Gulf Stream waters northward in the Atlantic, pumping heat into the northern regions that significantly moderates wintertime air temperatures, especially in Europe. ⁱ Melting glaciers & Arctic sea ice, another consequence of global warming, are one source of additional fresh water to the North Atlantic.ⁱ A cooling of the Nor

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04-12-05 ATLANTIC CURRENT SHUTDOWN COULD DISRUPT OCEAN FOOD CHAIN

Ocean & Climate Change Institute - Abrupt Climate Change - New Study Reports Large-scale Salinity Changes in the Oceans