The Gulf Stream And Global Warming Reading Passage
The Gulf Stream And Global Warming Reading Passage
Paragraph A: The Gulf Stream that flows from the Caribbean up the Atlantic coast of the United States and then turns northward into Europe is essential to marine life. When this water is exposed to the sun's heat in the tropics, it evaporates at a faster pace, making the water saltier. Along its course, the Gulf Stream splits into several branches, although the majority of its water flows north and east.
Paragraph B: Computer models are used to predict the impacts of global warming on the Gulf Stream, and these models produce results that vary. But, there are a number of key details that are already known. Formerly, as many as seven chimneys drew Gulf Stream water down into the ocean floor south of Greenland. Throughout the final few years, there was only one left, and in 2007, it vanished. Fresh water from melting glaciers may have contributed to the death of the chimneys.
Paragraph C: Historically, there have been temperature fluctuations on a global scale, as evidenced by changes in ocean sediments and glacial cores. A dip of around 5 degrees Celsius in average temperature brought on the previous Ice Age, when glaciers 2 miles thick covered much of North America and northern Europe. Twenty thousand years ago, that ice age finally melted away.
Paragraph D: Labrador and London lie at around the exact latitude, but Labrador is cold and contains only 30 miles of paved roadways while London is one of the main centers of civilization. Why do two places, equidistant from the Arctic Circle, have such disparate climates? The Gulf Stream that flows by the British Isles creates all the distinction: Its warm waters cause northwestern Europe so much with life that palm trees can actually grow on the southern shores of England.
Paragraph E: Most of the heat from the Gulf Stream dissipates as it reaches southeast Greenland and western Iceland, and the colder, denser water subsequently sink. In as many as seven huge vortices, or chimneys, the majority of the Gulf Stream is funnelled downward towards the ocean floor. They act like a vacuum, sucking water from the Gulf Stream to depths of nearly a mile, where it is absorbed by yet another whirling ocean current. About two miles below the ocean's surface, this icy water current moves in the opposite direction, from north to south.
Paragraph F: Reduced nutrient circulation in the ocean occurs when the slow, cold water from the lower half of the conveyor belt does not rise due to a weak Gulf Stream. This exacerbates the warming problem because less carbon dioxide is being removed from the atmosphere by the syphoning of surface water into the depths of the ocean.
Paragraph G: The Great Ocean Conveyor Belt describes the flow of warm water along the ocean's surface and cold water down the ocean floor. To keep the planet habitable, ocean currents have played a crucial role in maintaining a steady temperature distribution. The North Atlantic Currents are connected to the rest of the Great Conveyor Belt that circulates throughout the world's oceans. Of all parts of this worldwide stream, the North Atlantic is the one with the least consistency.
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