Gulf Stream SlowingThe
London Times on May 8th reported that scientists have detected signs that the Gulf Stream is slowing. One of the drivers of the Gulf Stream, the sinking of supercooled water off the coast of Greenland, has slowed to less than a quarter of its previous rate. This is significant beause the Gulf Stream keeps Europe warm during the winter. Britain is on the same latitude as Siberia.
Peter Wadhams, a professor of ocean physics at Cambridge University reports that "[u]ntil recently we would find giant ?chimneys? in the sea where columns of cold, dense water were sinking from the surface to the seabed 3,000 meters below, but now they have almost disappeared."
Wadham has also measured the North Polar ice cap and determined that it has become 46 percent thinner over the past 20 years. During summers as early as 2020 and almost certainly by 2080, the Arctic ice cap will melt completely.