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Permalink Reply by Anonymiss Express on February 17, 2012 at 9:28am

From:

Climate mythology:The Gulf Stream, European climate and Abrupt Change

Richard Seager

Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University

A few times a year the British media of all stripes goes into a tizzy of panic when one climate scientist or another states that there is a possibility that the North Atlantic ocean circulation, of which the Gulf Stream is a major part, will slow down in coming years or even stop. Whether the scientists statements are measured or inflammatory the media invariably warns that this will plunge Britain and Europe into a new ice age, pictures of the icy shores of Labrador are shown, created film of English Channel ferries making their way through sea ice are broadcast... And so the circus continues year after year. Here is one example.

The Gulf Stream-European climate myth

The panic is based on a long held belief of the British, other Europeans, Americans and, indeed, much of the world's population that the northward heat transport by the Gulf Stream is the reason why western Europe enjoys a mild climate, much milder than, say, that of eastern North America. This idea was actually originated by an American military man, Matthew Fontaine Maury, in the mid nineteenth century and has stuck since despite the absence of proof.

We now know this is a myth, the climatological equivalent of an urban legend. In a detailed study published in the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society in 2002, we demonstrated the limited role that ocean heat transport plays in determining regional climates around the Atlantic Ocean. Popular versions of this story can be found here, here and, in French, here.

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Moving beyond the myth

It is long time that the Gulf Stream-European climate myth was resigned to the graveyard of defunct misconceptions along with the Earth being flat and the sun going around the Earth. In its place we need serious assessments of how changes in ocean circulation will impact climate change and a new look at the problem of abrupt climate change that gives the tropical climate system and the atmosphere their due as the primary drivers of regional climates around the world.

Permalink Reply by Terry Bain on February 17, 2012 at 1:40pm

Great article - I didn't know that.  Thanks

Permalink Reply by Anonymiss Express on February 17, 2012 at 4:33pm

yw :)

Permalink Reply by vernon dodge on February 17, 2012 at 4:43pm

Your original reply said it all,and very well done Anonymiss,your a pretty wise cookie!, with no nuts!