The University of Liverpool is leading a new collaborative research project to explore how the Gulf Stream affects the climate system through the transport of nutrients and carbon.
The University of Liverpool is leading a new collaborative research project to explore how the Gulf Stream affects the climate system through the transport of nutrients and carbon.
Funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the US National Science Foundation (NSF), the £3.7 million project will use sensors located in the fast-flowing waters moving through Florida Straits and autonomous vehicles roaming the upper 2000m of the Atlantic basin to measure nutrient and carbon levels, and the amount of turbulence in the Gulf Stream.
This data will be used alongside the latest state-of-the-art ocean and climate models to find out more about how the Gulf Stream current affects the transport of nutrients and carbon and if it enhances or inhibits the uptake of carbon dioxide by the ocean.
Originating at the tip of Florida, the Gulf Stream is generally viewed to lead to milder winters in Europe through its role in transporting heat over the Atlantic basin. However, less is known about the role it plays in the strength and pattern of carbon uptake over the North Atlantic.
Read more at University of Liverpool
Photo credit: Pete Brown, NOC via University of Liverpool
