The Ocean and Global Warming

Paper Summary:

The paper focuses on a Pentagon Report that was released to the world media in 2004 predicting that the north Atlantic current would stop in the near future, bringing global catastrophe. The paper explains how ocean currents work and describes the phenomenon of global warming. The paper concludes that the events put forth in the Pentagon Report are a plausible scenario, although many scientists contest the events as something which is not likely to happen in the near future.

Outline:
Abstract
Introduction
Theory
Results
Discussion
Conclusions

From the Paper:

"The Pentagon Report was released to the world media in 2004 predicting that the north Atlantic current would stop in the near future, bringing global catastrophe. It is known that in the past the ocean currents have been affected by changes in climate, although the lack of direct observations make it difficult for scientists to discover the exact nature of changes which are currently being observed. There have however been changes noted in currents in the Pacific and in the Atlantic Oceans related to climate change, suggesting that the events predicted in the Pentagon Report may occur at some stage in the future, although it is difficult to predict exactly when. If such changes in ocean current did occur, it is likely that the changes would impact on a global scale."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bryden, H.L., Longworth, H.R. and Cunningham, S.A. (2005) Slowing of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation at 25oN. Nature, 438, 655-665.
• Danovaro, R., Dell'Anno, A., Fabiano, M., Pusceddu, A. and Tselepides, A. (2001) Deep-sea ecosystem response to climate changes: the eastern Mediterranean case study. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 16(9), 505-510.
• Hakkinen, S. and Rhines, P.B. (2004) Decline of subpolar North Atlantic circulation during the 1990s. Science, 304(5670), 555-559.
• Loder, J., Yashayaev, I. and Geshelin, Y. (2006) Water masses and currents in Orphan Basin of the North Atlantic. EOS Trans. AGU, 87(52) Suppl., AGU Fall Meeting.
• Lutjeharms, J.R.E. and Ruijter, W.P.M. (1996) The influence of the Agulhas Current on the adjacent coastal ocean: possible impacts of climate change. Journal of Marine Systems, 7, 321-336.

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