What is one direct effect of the Gulf Stream?
This strong current of warm water influences the climate of the east coast of Florida, keeping temperatures there warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than the other southeastern states. Since the Gulf Stream also extends toward Europe, it warms western European countries as well.
What is ocean mixing?
Mixing is the irreversible change in water properties such as temperature, salt, gas and nutrients, as a result of stirring by mechanical forces (wind, tides) or destabilizing buoyancy forces (cooling or ice freezing at sea surface). Mixing plays a pivotal role in climate variability and change.
Why is it important to study the Gulf Stream and other oceans around the world?
The Gulf Stream is extremely important to the global climate because it provides moderating temperatures on neighboring land areas of the east coast of North America, the coasts of Western Europe and northwestern Africa, and other coastal areas along its path.
What specific effect do the Gulf Stream waters have on the City of London?
The Gulf Stream brings warmth to the UK and north-west Europe and is the reason we have mild winters. Without this steady stream of warmth the British Isles winters are estimated to be more than 5C cooler, bringing the average December temperature in London to about 2C.
How does the Gulf Stream affect the air masses above the ocean water?
The Gulf Stream and it’s continuation, the North Atlantic drift, bring MILD and WARM air to parts of Western Europe (England). streams of water within the ocean that move in regular patterns. Warm ocean currents moving from the tropics to the poles warms the air above it. They move air masses around.
What causes ocean mixing?
Mixing in the ocean occurs on several scales, the smallest scale being molecular. If a layer of warm, salty water lies above a layer of colder, fresher water, the heat and salt will tend to diffuse (spread out) downwards to make a single layer with intermediate temperature and salinity values.
How does ocean mixing affect climate?
Large-scale ocean climate, including the meridional overturning circulation, the uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide by the ocean, the heat uptake by the ocean, and global biogeochemical cycling, can be impacted by the small-scale fluxes due to these mixing processes. …
Why was the Gulf Stream important to ships?
The Spanish Empire was built, in part, on the Gulf Stream. With the realization of its power to propel ships departing the Caribbean to the shores of Europe, it became a conveyor belt ushering wealth stripped from the Western Hemisphere.
How does the Gulf Stream affect marine life?
This interaction of seafloor and current causes turbulence and upwelling that enhances plankton growth, attracting small fish who in turn attract larger predators like swordfish, sailfish, and marlin.
What is the effect of the Gulf Stream on the United Kingdom?
The Gulf Stream affects the climate in Britain by bringing warm water from the Caribbean to North West Europe. This keeps the climate in Britain warmer than other places at a similar latitude.
What specific effect do the Gulf Stream waters have on the city of London and Northern Europe as a region?
The Gulf Stream brings warmth to the UK and north-west Europe and is the reason the UK has fairly mild winters. Without this warm North Atlantic Drift, the UK and other places in Europe could be as cold as Canada – and up to 5 °C cooler.