Climate models predict that as the planet warms, so will the Southern Ocean. But for decades, the waters around Antarctica have grown mysteriously cooler. A new study shows why.
Climate models predict that as the planet warms, so will the Southern Ocean. But for decades, the waters around Antarctica have grown mysteriously cooler. A new study shows why.
With warming, the region is seeing more rainfall and more ice melt, which are introducing more freshwater into the Southern Ocean. Because freshwater is not as dense as saltwater, it stays on the surface of the ocean instead of sinking down below. Freshwater acts like a lid, keeping warmer waters from rising up, scientists say, and the effect is much greater than previously appreciated.
Until now, models have failed to fully account for the influence of rain and, in particular, melting. Study coauthor Earle Wilson, of Stanford University, said the impact of meltwater is “completely missing from most climate models.”
Read more at: Yale Environment 360
Icebergs in the Southern Ocean. (Photo Credit: Lieutenant Elizabeth Crapo / NOAA Corps)
