| Thermohaline circulation is immensely important to global climate. For example the warm Gulf Stream current is the major cause for the city of London's relatively warm temperatures, even though it is located at a high latitude. If a major disturbance were to occur, it could plunge Northern Europe and other areas of the Northern Hemisphere into a miniature ice age. Thermohaline circulation is dependent on arctic ice formation in the creation of salty dense ocean waters that are able to sink deep into the earth's ocean basins and travel around the globe. A major influx in freshwater could cause a breakdown of the current, originating in deep water in the North Atlantic and disrupt thermohaline circulation. This kind of event has occurred in the recent past during the Younger Dryas event, and could occur again if Greenland begins to experience a major melt event. This study will look at Greenland ice sheet trends in the last 30 years to see if melting has been occurring. Satellite data used are from the NSIDC and they focus on melt days per year and brightness temperature. This brightness temperature data is then compared against North Atlantic Ocean salinity data to show that melt is increasing in this region, and that thermohaline circulation strength is being affected. |
