Gulf Stream , along with its northern extension of the North Atlantic Atlantic, is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that stretches from the Gulf of Mexico and stretches to the end of Florida, and follows the east coast of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Ocean Atlantic. The western intensification process causes the Gulf Stream to become an accelerated current to the north off the east coast of North America. About 40Ã, Â ° 0? N 30Ã, Â ° 0? W , it is divided into two, with the north stream, the North Atlantic, across to Northern Europe and southern currents, the Canary Flow, recirculation in West Africa.
The Gulf Stream influences the eastern coastal climates of North America from Florida to Newfoundland, and the west coast of Europe. Despite recent debates, there is a consensus that the climate of Western Europe and Northern Europe is warmer than it should be due to the North Atlantic shift that is the northeastern part of the Gulf Stream. It is part of the North Atlantic Gyre. Its presence has led to the development of powerful cyclones of all kinds, both in the atmosphere and in the oceans. The Gulf Stream is also a significant potential source of renewable power generation. Gulf currents may be slowing as a result of climate change.
The Gulf Stream is typically 100 kilometers (62 miles) wide and 800 meters (2,600 feet) to 1,200 meters (3,900 feet) deep. The fastest current speed approaches the surface, with a maximum speed of about 2.5 meters per second (5.6 mph).
Video Gulf Stream
Histori
The European discovery of the Gulf Stream dates to the 1512 Juan Ponce de LeÃÆ'³n expedition, after which it became widely used by Spanish ships sailing from the Caribbean to Spain. A summary of the Ponce de LeÃÆ'³n shipping log, on April 22, 1513, notes, "Such currents, although they have very large winds, they can not go forward, but retreat and they seem to run well; stronger than the wind. "Its presence is also known by Peter Martyr d'Anghiera.
Benjamin Franklin became interested in the patterns of the North Atlantic circulation. In 1768, while in England, Franklin heard a strange complaint from the Colonial Customs Council: Why it took the British pack several weeks longer to reach New York than England than the average American merchant ship to reach Newport, Rhode Island, although the merchant ship departing from London and having to sail down the Thames and then along the English Channel before sailing across the Atlantic, while packets depart from Falmouth in Cornwall?
Franklin asked Timothy Folger, his cousin twice removed (Nantucket Historical Society), a Nantucket Island whaling captain, for an answer. Folger explains that merchant ships routinely cross the unnamed Gulf Stream - identifying it with whale behavior, measuring the water temperature and bubble speed on its surface, and the color change of water - while the packet captain ran against me t. Franklin worked with Folger and other experienced ship captains, just learning to map the Gulf Stream and giving him a name that is still known today. He offered this information to Anthony Todd, secretary of the British Post Office, but was ignored by the British sea captain.
The Franklin Gulf Stream graph was published in 1770 in England, where most were ignored. The next version was printed in France in 1778 and the US in 1786.
Maps Gulf Stream
Properties
The Gulf Stream is an intensified current in the West, driven largely by wind pressure. The North Atlantic Drift, by contrast, is largely driven by thermohaline circulation. In 1958, oceanographer Henry Stommel noted that "very little water from the Gulf of Mexico is actually in the Current". By bringing warm water to the northeast across the Atlantic, it makes the West and especially Northern Europe warmer than it should be.
However, the extent to which its contribution to actual temperature differences between North America and Europe is a matter of disagreement, since there is a recent minority opinion in the science community that this temperature difference (beyond that caused by different maritime and continental climates) is mainly due to the atmospheric waves created by the Rocky Mountains.
Formation and behavior
The water of the sea, called the North Atlantic Equatorial Current, flows westward off the coast of Central Africa. When this stream interacts with the northeast coast of South America, the fork is now two branches. One passes through the Caribbean Sea, while the other, Antillen Current, flows north and east of the West Indies. Both of these branches merged back north of the Strait of Florida.
The trade winds blow westward in the tropics, and the west wind blows eastward in the middle latitudes. This wind pattern applies pressure to the subtropical sea level with a negative curl across the North Atlantic Ocean. Transport Sverdrup generated is the equator.
Due to the conservation of potential vortices caused by winds moving northward on the western outskirts of the volcano and increasing relative vortices of moving water to the north, transport is offset by the narrow and accelerated poleward currents flowing along the western boundary of the ocean basin. , exceeds the frictional effect with the western boundary current known as the Labrador current. Conservation of potential vortices also causes bends along the Gulf Stream, which are sometimes broken off by a shift in the Gulf Stream position, forming a separate warm and cold vortex. This whole process, known as western intensification, causes currents in the western boundary of the ocean basin, such as the Gulf Stream, to be stronger than the eastern boundary.
As a result, the resulting Gulf Stream is a strong ocean current. It transports water at a rate of 30 million cubic meters per second (30 sverdrups) through the Florida Strait. As it passes south of Newfoundland, this rate rises to 150 million cubic meters per second. The Gulf Flow Volume dwarfs all the empty rivers to the Atlantic combined, which is almost 0.6 million cubic meters per second. It is weaker, however, than the Circumpolar Antarctic Circle. Given the strength and closeness of the Gulf Stream, beaches along the East Coast of the United States may be more vulnerable to large sea level anomalies, which significantly impacts coastal erosion rates.
The Gulf Stream is typically 100 kilometers (62 miles) wide and 800 meters (2,600 feet) to 1,200 meters (3,900 feet) deep. The fastest current speed approaches the surface, with a maximum speed of about 2.5 meters per second (5.6 mph). As it moves north, the warm waters transported by the Gulf Stream undergo evaporative cooling. Cooling is driven by wind: Winds that move above water cause evaporation, cool water and increase salinity and density. When sea ice is formed, salt is left out of ice, a process known as saltwater exceptions. Both of these processes produce denser and cooler water (or rather, water that is still liquid at lower temperatures). In the North Atlantic Ocean, the water becomes so dense that it begins to sink under water that is less salty and less dense. (The convective action is no different from the lava lamp.) This cold and solid water downdraft becomes part of the North Atlantic Deep Water, a southern stream. Very little seaweed is located in the current, although the seaweed lies in the group to the east.
In April 2018, two studies published in Nature found the Gulf Stream to be at its weakest point for at least 1,600 years.
Localized effects
The Gulf Stream is very influential on the Florida peninsula climate. Part of the Florida coast, referred to as the Florida stream, maintains an average water temperature at or above 24 ° C (75 ° F) during winter. The eastern breeze moving over the warm water is moving warm air from over the Gulf Stream to the mainland, helping to keep temperatures lighter across the state than elsewhere throughout the Southeast during winter. Also, the close range of the Gulf Stream to Nantucket, Massachusetts adds to its biodiversity, as it is the northern boundary for the southern varieties of plants, and the southern boundary for the northern plant species, Nantucket becomes warmer over the winter than inland.
The North Atlantic Stream from the Gulf Stream, along with similar warm air currents, helps keep Ireland and the Great Britain west coast a few degrees warmer than the east. However, the difference is most dramatic on the western coastal islands of Scotland. The real effects of the Gulf Stream and strong west wind (driven by warm water from the Gulf Stream) in Europe occur along the coast of Norway. The northern part of Norway lies close to the Arctic zone, which is mostly covered with ice and snow in the winter. However, most Norwegian beaches remain free of ice and snow throughout the year. The weather system warmed by the Gulf Stream drifted into Northern Europe, also warming the climate behind the Scandinavian mountains.
Effects on cyclone formation
Warm water and contrasting temperatures along the edges of the Gulf Stream often increase the intensity of cyclones, tropical or otherwise. Tropical cyclone storms typically require a water temperature of over 26.5 ° C (79.7 ° F). Tropical cyclone formation is common in the Gulf Stream, especially in July. The storm moves west through the Caribbean and then moves northward and curves toward the east coast of the United States or remains on the northwest path and enters the Gulf of Mexico. Such storms have the potential to create strong winds and widespread damage in the Southeast Coastal Zone of the United States.
Strong extratropical cyclones have been shown to deepen significantly along the shallow frontal zone, imposed by the Gulf Stream itself during the winter. Subtropical cyclones also tend to produce near the Gulf Stream. 75% of the documented systems between 1951 and 2000 formed near these warm currents, with two peaks of annual activity occurring during May and October. Cyclones in the form of oceans beneath the Gulf Stream, extending as deep as 3,500 meters (11,500 feet) below the ocean's surface.
Possible renewable resources
The maximum theoretical energy dissipation from Gulf Stream by turbine is in the range of 20-60 GW. One suggestion, which could theoretically supply electricity comparable to some nuclear power plants, would deploy an underwater turbine field 300 meters (980 feet) below the core core of the Gulf Stream. Marine thermal energy can also be utilized to generate electricity using the temperature difference between deep cold water and warm surface water.
In culture
- Some of the victims of RMS Titanic , whose bodies are supported by lifebelts but never found by rescue or recovery ships sent to find them, are thought to have been carried in the Gulf Stream.
See also
- Arctic dipole anomaly
- Current limit
- Humboldt Current
- The latitude of the Gulf Stream and the north Gulf Stream index
- North Atlantic oscillation
- Turn off thermohaline circulation
References
Further reading
External links
- Ocean Motion - Gulf Stream description as western boundary flow
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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