The Role of Thermohaline Circulation in Global Climate Change ...

• Main Author: Gordon, Arnold L.
• Format: Report
• Language: unknown
• Published: Columbia University 1991
• Subjects: Oceanography; FOS: Earth and related environmental sciences; Climatic changes; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.7916/d8m04g8h; https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/doi/10.7916/D8M04G8H

The world ocean consists of 1.3 billion cu km of salty water, and covers 70.8% of the Earth's surface. This enormous body of water exerts a powerful influence on Earth's climate; indeed, it is an integral part of the global climate system. Therefore, understanding the climate system requires a knowledge of how the ocean and the atmosphere exchange heat, water and greenhouse gases. If we are to be able to gain a capability for predicting our changing climate we must learn, for example, how pools of warm salty water move about the ocean, what governs the growth and decay of sea ice, and how rapidly the deep ocean's interior responds to the changes in the atmosphere. ...