ClimateWire: Australian and Japanese scientists have discovered a deep-sea current described in a new study as key to the workings of global climate, functioning as a “conveyor belt” for cold water from Antarctica.
The study, published in Sunday’s issue of Nature Geoscience, found that the current carries water north to the Kerguelen Plateau of the southern Indian Ocean, at which point it dissipates. Scientists want to know whether ocean circulation patterns would remain fairly constant on a warming planet or whether they would be sensitive to change — potentially mitigating or compounding climate change.
“We didn’t know if it was a significant part of the circulation or not, and this shows clearly that it is,” said co-author Steve Rintoul, an oceanographer at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). “The deep current along the Kerguelen Plateau is part of a global system of ocean currents called the overturning circulation, which determines how much heat and carbon the ocean can soak up.”
Ocean currents affecting global climate have been known to change over time. Researchers hope to understand what causes changes in currents such as the Gulf Stream, which carries warm water to the North Atlantic and makes parts of northern Europe warmer than they would otherwise be (David Fogarty, Reuters, April 26). – GN