Gulf Stream

When I went to Disneyland Paris two weeks ago, I did an attraction called Nemo Crush Coaster, it's attraction is inspired by the cartoon Nemo and the Gulf Stream.

We did not think it was a thrill ride since my 5 year old was the size needed to access the attraction. It's once stuck in the carts that we realized. There followed two terrible minutes for me who does not like this kind of attraction and what is more for my 5 year old son who started to cry in the middle of the circuit. The horror for me, in addition to pinball saw the speed of attraction that in addition to sloping down the slopes and to take turns nasty, the wagon turns on itself, needless to say that in addition I was in the opposite direction of walking. Either, I was relieved for me and my little one when it finally stopped. My husband and 7 year old son liked it.

I advise you besides, if ever a day you go there and if you like this kind of attraction it's great!

Let's go back to my theme that is the Gulf Stream, apart from having heard about it in Nemo and sometimes on television, I never really had a clear explanation on what is the Gulf Stream?

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After investigating, that's what I understood:

The Gulf Stream is an ocean current that originates between Florida and the Bahamas, it then disperses in the Atlantic Ocean to Greenland. In fact, it moves hot water from the subtropical areas to the poles. In autumn, it shifts to the north and in winter and spring it shifts to the South.

Not to be confused with Jet Stream which is a strong wind current with peaks of up to 400 km / h. It blows from west to east and plays an important role in the formation and movement of depressions sweeping France among others.

It was Juan Ponce de Leon, a Spanish navigator who discovered him at the same time he discovered Florida in 1513.
Indeed, he noticed that the ships were washed away by a stream of hot water coming from the Caribbean Sea.

Then, in 1770, Benjamin Franklin, Post Office Manager, commissioned an in-depth study and detailed mapping of the Gulf Stream to improve mail transport time with Great Britain.

The Gulf Stream is a kind of dam that separates hot water and cold water.

It is the result of the fusion of the current of Cuba and the north equatorial current.

The Gulf Stream is a real river, about 150 km wide and 1200 m deep, it flows at a speed of 9 km / h and we can see its edges with the naked eye, as if we saw a line of oil in water.

The Gulf Stream was formed about 4.1 million years ago.

This marine current is activated by a mixture of interactions between wind forces, differences in water density, inputs of continental freshwater, rainwater and coastal geography.

Its engine is the thermohaline circulation, which is the difference in density due to salinity and water temperature. Arctic waters are denser because they are colder and saltier. The Atlantic waters are less dense because they are warmer and less salty. The first dive under the seconds towards the Arctic, creating an aspiration of Atlantic waters to the north.

Influence on the climate

Marine currents distribute the heat in the atmosphere all over the earth.
The Gulf Stream has a weak influence on the thermal contrast between European and American winters. On the other hand, marine currents play a more important role further north, preventing the formation of sea ice along the Norwegian coasts.

According to some studies, oceanic transport of heat increases winter temperatures in eastern North America and western Europe by 2 to 3 ° C.

The ocean plays an important role on the climate. The water heats up less quickly than the air but it cools less quickly too.

The heat stored in tropical water is returned to the atmosphere at higher latitudes. This is how oceanic surface currents and depths that carry this heat from the equator to the poles are generated.

Scientists estimate that the ocean contributes 30% to the transport of heat from the equator to the poles.

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A theory from the 1990s says that the warm Gulf Stream brings warmth to the cold westerlies in winter, stabilizing the imbalance between the atmospheric and oceanic layers due to decreased solar radiation.

A study published in 2002 explains that indeed the Gulf Stream is responsible for certain atmospheric movements but it is not the only one. Indeed, the prevailing winds play an important role as well and are also influenced by the presence of the Rocky Mountains and the geographic configuration.

Disappearance of the Gulf Stream due to global warming

Scientists have speculated that global warming could lead to a halt in the thermohaline circulation, through a decrease in salinity and an increase in the temperature of the Arctic Ocean. But since the Gulf Stream is linked to other movements such as the subtropical ocean gyre of the North Atlantic. The ocean gyre is a huge swirl of oceanic water formed by a set of ocean currents. These vortices are caused by the Coriolis force which is an inertial force acting perpendicular to the direction of movement of a moving body in a medium, itself in uniform rotation.

Stopping the thermohaline circulation would therefore have only a slight influence on the Gulf Stream.

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Gulf Stream and moving marine animals

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Scientists have studied the leatherback turtles and their migration.

They tried to discover and locate their migration corridors and also their habitats.

They have seen little evidence that Atlantic leatherback turtles migrate from the Caribbean Sea following the temperate waters of the Gulf Stream and encounter the icy Labrador Current off the east coast of Canada. Then they cross the North Atlantic and then descend the west coast of Europe and Africa, crossing the Atlantic again to finally return to their breeding area: the West Indies.

They travel about 15000 kilometers in a single migration.

The current speed of the Gulf Stream of about 9 km / h must surely help them in their immense migration journey.

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I hope you liked this article and let you know a little more about the Gulf Stream?
It is not only a marine current, it is also an actor of change in atmospheric conditions but also a travel corridor for some marine animals such as turtles for example.