Question

How could climate change affect the gulf stream

Answer 1

The Gulf Stream is a very strong current pressed up against the east coast of the United States. It brings warm water from the Gulf of Mexico into the North Atlantic, and it’s driven by the winds over the Atlantic. It carries a lot of water: about 80 million cubic meters of water per second near Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. A cubic meter is about the amount of water in a bathtub, so there’s about 80 million bathtubs of water per second flowing through that section.

After leaving Cape Hatteras, the Gulf Stream crosses the Atlantic Ocean, with some of its waters turning south in the eastern Atlantic, and some turning towards the north. The latter branch serves as a major heat source for the weather and climate of Western Europe. Great Britain and Scandinavia would be a lot colder if it weren’t for the Gulf Stream.

It affects weather in the U.S., too. By bringing so much warm water along the mid-Atlantic and southeastern states, it adds some warmth to the eastern coast of the U.S. The Gulf Stream also affects the paths of hurricanes, and their strength — they intensify as they draw up the heat from the warm water. So factoring in the Gulf Stream is essential in predicting hurricanes heading toward the U.S.