Cold and warm polar water mixing slows | Climate News Network
▻http://www.climatenewsnetwork.net/2014/03/cold-and-warm-polar-water-mixing-slows
The process that sends cold surface Antarctic water to the warmer depths, redistributing heat and storing carbon, is now faltering, scientists say – because of climate change.
LONDON, 4 March – Global warming could have dramatic consequences for ocean circulation in the Antarctic, according to new research in Nature Climate Change. It could reduce convection in the Southern Ocean.
Convection is the process that turns over a vast body of sea water, sending the fresh water from melted ice to the depths, while bringing warmer, more saline waters to the surface. Since the ocean is part of the global machinery for redistributing heat and storing carbon, any change in the pattern of movement could have profound significance.
