Download The Great Conveyor Belt and Abrupt Climate Change

The Great Conveyor Belt and Abrupt Climate Change
Cycle A TEAM iTeachers aka Team 10
Questions and Answers
o
Is there an agency from the government that has been tracking the temperatures of the
oceans for several years?
Event>Hydrosphere
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o
Yes, it is called IOOS (Integrated Ocean Observing System), IOOS is a multiagency, cooperative effort based on a continuously operating network of buoys,
ships, satellites, underwater vehicles, and other platforms that routinely collect
real-time data and manage historical information. These data are needed for
rapid detection and timely prediction of changes in our nation's ocean and
coastal waters and they started collecting data in 1990. This does not give us a
good picture of how the data can be reliable. We now by the article in the
scenario that Benjamin Franklin collected data but how accurate was it and can
that data be up to par as the data can is being collected now?
http://secoora.org/classroom/flowing_ocean/currents_glossary
http://www.ioos.gov/about/history.html
Is there enough evidence to think that we are the problem in this equation?
Biosphere>Event

o
According to research data this has happened before and it caused an Ice Age
but this is not likely to happen, according to NASA.
http://oceanmotion.org/html/impact/conveyor.htm
How can you track the salt saturation of the oceans if it keeps moving?
Event>Hydrosphere

According to the IOOS, when water is saltier it is denser and will sink to the
bottom of the ocean and the fresher water will rise. Fresher water is cooler than
salty water and water closer to the poles will freeze easier.
http://secoora.org/classroom/flowing_ocean/currents_glossary
o
Salt is naturally warm, does this have to do anything with the warming of the water.
Event>Hydrosphere

o
Yes but it is more important to see what happens to the salty water. This is
almost the same answer as the question above. Salty water is warmer but if the
water is to saturated with salt it will sink and fresher water will rise.
If the ocean stops its conveyer belt will the ocean currents stop?
Event>Hydrosphere

Yes they are connected buy according to the IOOS this is not likely to happen. It
will affect is some ways but it will not affect the whole world. First, a slowdown or
even a stoppage of the meridional overturning circulation would NOT spell the
end to the Gulf Stream. Wind and large-scale turbulence drive the bulk of the
Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, of which the Gulf Stream is a part. The Gulf Stream
would, however, draw significantly less water from the tropics. Second, unlike
during the Younger Dryas, a weakening of the meridional overturning circulation
will NOT trigger another ice age. Rising temperatures due to global warming
would offset most of the temperature drop. Armadas of icebergs floating off the
New Jersey coast are just Hollywood fantasies.
http://oceanmotion.org/html/impact/conveyor.htm
o
How will this affect animals that use the ocean currents to navigate and find their food?
Event>Biosphere

It keeps the ocean's temperature constant, distributes oxygen throughout the
oceans and even on land (so basically distributes oxygen around the whole
world), and also keeps some coastlines' temperature constant. It is relied on by
almost all marine life and a lot of land life too, without it, many eco-systems
would not be able to exist.
http://www.bukisa.com/articles/81969_the-ocean-conveyor-the-bloodstream-ofthe-earth#ixzz1ey0XVvCe
o
Will this affect land animals or humans?
Event>Biosphere

o
How much change in water temperatures can human life sustain?
Event>Hydrosphere

o
Gases will be release and kill all living things.
http://www.bukisa.com/articles/81969_the-ocean-conveyor-the-bloodstream-ofthe-earth#ixzz1ey1Q06K1
Human life can sustain and has sustained increase in global water temperatures. It is
dependent on how drastic the temperature change is and if human life can adapt to that
change.
Is Global Warming affecting ocean currents?
Event>Hydrosphere
 Global warming could affect ocean currents by altering the amount of freshwater being
brought into the ocean waters. “Curry noted that excessive amounts of freshwater
dumped into the North Atlantic could alter seawater density and, in time, affects the flow
of the North Atlantic Ocean current. (Global warming has boosted freshwater runoff in
the form of glacier melt water and additional precipitation, Curry said.)” (Roach, 2005)
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0627_050627_oceancurrent.html
o
Can human intervention prevent an abrupt change in the ocean currents?
Biosphere>Event
 Human intervention can help to prevent or decrease Global warming. Humans can
decrease the amount of natural resources being used and reduce the amount of
greenhouse gases.
o
Are these changes in the ocean currents happening at a pace where animal life is
already adapting to them?
Event>Biosphere
 “A new study shows that animals, plants, and insects are responding quickly to
changing temperatures, moving their habitats to cooler climates so swiftly that they’ve
surprised scientists.” (Newitz, 2011) Animals are already changing as the global
temperatures increase. Newitz goes on to say that, “This study also reveals that the
natural world has been aware of the effects of global warming for at least forty years,
and some species are adapting to it as best they can.”
http://io9.com/5831917/animals-are-adapting-more-rapidly-to-climate-change-thanhumans
o
If the circuit would stop would it affect the Water cycle?
Event>Hydroshpere

The ocean plays a key role in this vital cycle of water. The ocean holds 97% of the total
water on the planet; 78% of global precipitation occurs over the ocean, and it is the
source of 86% of global evaporation. Besides affecting the amount of atmospheric water
vapor and hence rainfall, evaporation from the sea surface is important in the movement
of heat in the climate system. Water evaporates from the surface of the ocean, mostly in
warm, cloud-free subtropical seas. This cools the surface of the ocean, and the large
amount of heat absorbed the ocean partially buffers the greenhouse effect from
increasing carbon dioxide and other gases. Water vapor carried by the atmosphere
condenses as clouds and falls as rain, mostly in the ITCZ, far from where it evaporated,
Condensing water vapor releases latent heat and this drives much of the atmospheric
circulation in the tropics. This latent heat release is an important part of the Earth’s heat
balance, and it couples the planet’s energy and water cycles….
http://science.nasa.gov/earth-science/oceanography/ocean-earth-system/ocean-watercycle/
o
What would be the effect on the ocean life if the conveyor would stop?
Event>Biosphere

o
Without a mechanism to get the nutrients back to the surface, the oceans would lose
about one-fiftieth of their nutrients to this sinking process each year, Sarmiento said.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0615_040614_SouthernOcean_2.ht
ml
What were the consequences if it did?
Event>Hydrosphere>Biosphere

Scientists call this density-driven component of the meridional overturning circulation
the thermohaline circulation; thermo meaning heat and saline meaning salt. Without this
density-driven process, deep water currents would no longer be created. The global
conveyor belt would grind to a halt….http://oceanmotion.org/html/impact/conveyor.htm
o
How is Global Warning connected to the Great Conveyor Belt?
Event>Atmosphere

o
Global warming will increase precipitation, river run-off, melting of the Greenland ice
sheet, and melting of polar sea ice, all of which will increase the amount of fresh water
flowing into the critical deep-water formation areas by
Greenland…http://www.wunderground.com/resources/climate/abruptclimate.asp
Why is global warming raising the potential of unlocking large amounts of fresh water now
frozen in the vast of Greenland?
Event>Atmosphere>Hydrosphere

o
o
o
The warming of air temperatures could also increase the evaporation in low latitudes
and transport freshwater vapor toward high latitudes, where it falls as rain or snow into
the oceans.
Why does salinity affect germination?
Event> Biosphere>Hydrosphere
 Electrolytes in the water inhibit the plants ability to absorb water which is essential for
germination.
 http://www.echohem.com/t_dsalt.html
Why does salinity and heat affect the density?
Event>Hydrosphere
 As the temperature of a substance decreases, its density increases. Therefore, cold
water is denser and sinks below warm water. Saline water is denser than fresh water
because the densities of dissolved ions are greater than water. Therefore, saline water
is denser and sinks below fresh of less saline water.
 http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/water-denstiy-effects-salinity-temperature/
Why does salinity affect the movement of water in the deep ocean?
Event>Hydrosphere
 The ocean is divided into two layers: bottom (cold) and top (warm) layer. Salinity makes
water dense causing it for it to sink to the bottom of the ocean, leaving a thin layer of
warm water. The surface water gets warmed as it passes through the tropics and it
loses its heat as it reaches the poles. This process continues as eventually all the saline
water circulates through the ocean.
 http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/545.html

http://sealevel.ipl.nasa.gov/education/classactivities/onlineetutorial2/

o
This image shows how the density of the salt in the ocean affect the temperature of the
oceans.
If all the oceans play roles in stabilizing the world climate, how is it that the changes in water
temperature could affect the great conveyor belt?
Event>Hydrosphere
 Dramatic climate change can occur from the reduction of large-scale mixing of waterthermohaline circulation-throughout the ocean. Increased precipitation and widespread
melting of ice caused by global warming could create a larger layer of fresh water that
would slow or prevent normal themohaline mixing and would affect the currents offshore
from Greenland and Newfoundland.
 http://www.neaq.org/conservation_and_research/climate_change/climate_change_and_
the_ocean.php
o
Is the marine life on the conveyor belt any different from the rest?
Event>Biosphere
 The rich nutrients of the conveyor belt help feed the phytoplankton that lives at the
ocean’s surface.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/06/0615_040614southernocean.htmi
What needs to be done?
Torres and Rivera – Will research how the Biosphere is affected by the halting of
The Great Conveyer Belt.
Event >Hydrosphere>Atmosphere>Biosphere
If the Conveyer Belt was to stop it will cause bacteria in the oceans to grow at an astronomical
rate. Stagnant waters lacking in oxygen would provide a perfect home for anoxic bacteria.
Anoxic bacteria gives off hydrogen sulfide gas which is colorless, toxic, and highly flammable
and reeks of rotten eggs and flatulence. This would be released into the air and would be
circulated around the Earth through the convection currents in the atmosphere. This would kill
off almost all land living animals, plants and other life that respirate using oxygen and this is
happening in some stagnant lakes and swamps but on a low scale such as in Green Lake, NY.
Many animals that depend on the currents to find their food will be lost and food webs and
chains will be affected and disrupt sea life population. This will in turn affect the food supply
for humans, especially the ones that depend on seafood.
http://www.bukisa.com/articles/81969_the-ocean-conveyor-the-bloodstream-of-theearth#ixzz1ey1Q06K1
How much of our food supply is provided by the ocean?
Event>hydrosphere>biosphere
The importance of seafood in the human diet varies greatly around the world. In the United States,
consumption is roughly 7 kilograms (about 15 pounds) per person per year.
Clams and oysters dominate the mollusk category, followed by scallops, mussels, and
abalone. Total mollusk production exceeds 15 million metric tons annually.
Humans eat fish protein more than any other type of protein.
Read more: Food from the Sea - oceans, percentage, important, largest, salt, plants, source, marine,
human http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/En-Ge/Food-from-the-Sea.html#ixzz1fUPGqlgc
Arias and Medina- Will research how the Hydrosphere is affected by the Great
Conveyer Belt.
Event>Atmosphere>Hydroshpere
Heat transported by the conveyor belt plays a major role in controlling the earth’s climate,
including the direction of sea breezes. The conveyor belt continuous flow moves the water and
releases heat causing the surface water to be evaporated and condensed. This is why the
Pacific has a relative warmer temperature. As the poles warm up due to climate change there
is more fresh water entering the ocean. This could cause the conveyor belt to a halt due to
climate change.
http://education.gsfc.nasa.gov/ESSSProject/NewLessons/hydrospere/ENSO/Team00?ts1sibg.pdf
http://sos.noaa.gov/datasets/Ocean/ocean_conveyor_belt.html
De Leon - Will research how the Lithosphere is affected by the Great Conveyer
Belt?
Event>Lithosphere
For thousands of years the earths lithosphere was relied on the Great Oceans Conveyor belt to
keep it firm and sturdy, but if this was to change a disaster may occur. If this was to happen the
force of the plates tectonics that have shaped the Earth on the surface may move causing the
disruption of the asthenospheric. Causing earth’s release of internal heat by convection, as if
you were boiling pudding on a stovetop. The Hot asthenospheric mantles rise to the
lithosphere and spread laterally, transporting oceans and continents. All caused by the
changing temperatures due to a slow conveyor belt. This may also cause volcanoes to erupt or
earthquakes to occur. I have placed a video that demonstrates the freezing of the ocean floor.
http://youtu.be/SM6sDEtgPx0
http://homepage.usask.ca/~src594/Earthquakes.html
Problem Statement
If the Conveyer belt comes to a halts or slows down, what chain reactions will be
created and to what magnitude can we expect this abrupt changes to occur?
We need to see what chain reaction will affect living things and how. We should
be able to learn what will happen to the water and how this will affect fish,
bacteria, sea transportation, tides, and all the ways this changes will affect us
and Earth.