A new study by NOAA reveals that the Gulf Stream underwent a rapid intensification between 2014 and 2023. An acceleration of the current can lead to increased transport of heat towards higher latitudes, warming the ocean surface and increasing the amount of heat released into the atmosphere.
Satellite data reveal the intensification of the Gulf Stream. Source: NOAA.The Gulf Stream, one of the fastest ocean currents in the world, runs along the east coast of the United States, transporting large amounts of warm water from lower latitudes towards the higher latitudes of the North Atlantic. As it strengthens, it carries more heat northwards. Changes in its intensity and path influence the climate, weather patterns, marine ecosystems and sea levels in coastal regions of the North Atlantic.
This animation shows the Gulf Stream sending warm water into the North Atlantic, forcing colder water to sink and move southwards. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualisation Studio.In a study conducted by scientists from NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) and the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS) at the University of Miami, an analysis of 31 years — from 1993 to 2023 — of continuous observations from satellite altimetry revealed significant year-to-year and decadal variability in the strength of the Gulf Stream and, consequently, in the transport of water masses. Thanks to this dataset spanning several decades, researchers identified a prolonged period of weakening between 2005 and 2014, followed by rapid strengthening that began around 2014 and continued through to 2023.
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Original Record.
This archived record authored by ‘Helena Mottram’ at ‘METEORED (Your Weather)’ was recovered from data set:
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