Slowdown in ocean circulation may produce more extreme weather in the North Atlantic

Published 26-03-2015

Freshwater from ice melting probably affects ocean currents in the North Atlantic.

Greenland ice sheet melting produces large amounts of freshwater that probably contribute to a slowdown in the oceanic currents in the North Atlantic. From this, we may increasingly experience more extreme weather in Europe. New research with Danish participation published in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change indicates that this is the case.

"Our findings lead me to expect the climate will become more extreme with larger oscillations" says professor Jason Box from GEUS to videnskab.dk (Danish web-based news media) and points out the big storms that have hit the west coast of the British Isles in recent times.

Read the article in Nature Climate Change: Exceptional twentieth-century slowdown in Atlantic Ocean overturning circulation:www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nclimate2554.html

Contact:
Professor Jason Box, GEUS
Phone.: +45 41 14 54 28
E-mail: jeb@geus.dk