Massive East Coast Snowstorm Linked To Slowing North Atlantic Current - New Scientist [View all]

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The El Niño that helped push global temperatures to record-smashing levels last year may also have played a part. But there may be more to it.

Ocean temperatures just off the east coast have been warming even faster than global temperatures, Stefan Rahmstorf of Potsdam University in Germany pointed out in a blog post on Sunday. Further north, however, the waters south of Greenland and Iceland are cooler than normal.

This is exactly the pattern expected if the circulation is slowing down: more heat staying by the east coast instead of being carried north. We know the current has slowed over the past decade, thanks to direct measurements. What isn’t clear, says Leon Hermanson of the UK’s Met Office, who studies how the North Atlantic Ocean influences the weather, is how much this slowdown contributed to the unusual warmth off the east coast.

Another key question is whether the observed slowdown of the current is part of an ongoing trend driven by global warming, or just a result of natural variation. A few studies – including one published by Rahmstorf’s team last year – suggest that it is part of a long-term trend driven by global warming. But since we have only a decade of direct measurements, it is too soon to be sure, says Hermanson.

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https://www.newscientist.com/article/2075131-us-east-coast-snowstorms-linked-to-slowdown-of-atlantic-current/