ocean currents

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'Giant Ocean Conveyor Belt' May Fall Sooner Than Thought

Scientists pen open letter warning that risk of AMOC ocean current failing is 'underestimated'

(Newser) - Last year, climate scientists sent up a red flag over the potential collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, a network of ocean currents in peril from climate change. That warning indicated it could be decades before that happens, but a new analysis suggests such a "devastating"...

Gulf Stream System Could Be on the Verge of Collapse

AMOC shutdown 'would be a very, very large change'

(Newser) - One of the climate change tipping points scientists are most worried about could arrive sooner than expected, with potentially disastrous consequences for billions of people, according to new research. In a study published in the journal Nature , Danish researcher Peter Ditlevsen, a climate scientist, and his sister Susanne Ditlevsen, a...

He Saved His Daughter, but Couldn't Save Himself

Thomas Zakrewski, caught in rip current, drowns off Florida beach

(Newser) - A leisurely stroll at the beach quickly turned into a nightmare for a Georgia woman, who watched Tuesday as her husband slipped beneath the waves. Six to eight relatives from Georgia were walking along a curved sandbar on the shore of Florida's North Captiva Island around 5:30pm when...

Details Given on SD Lawmaker's Death in South Pacific

Rep. Craig Tieszen reportedly became caught in a current

(Newser) - More details have been released surrounding a South Dakota state representative's death in a kayaking accident off the South Pacific island of Rarotonga. Rep. Craig Tieszen, 68, and his brother-in-law, 61-year-old Brent Moline, borrowed hotel kayaks last Wednesday and paddled out around 9am into what is described as having...

Lifeguard Didn't Know He Was Saving Heir to Throne

Nick Malcolm rescued Denmark's Prince Christian, 10, from perilous Aussie riptide

(Newser) - A lifeguard on Australia's Gold Coast saved a 10-year-old boy from rough waters Thursday, except it wasn't just any 10-year-old boy: It was Denmark's Prince Christian, on vacation with his family, 7 News Australia reports. The young heir to the throne was caught in a riptide at...

Professor Predicted This Debris Scenario Last Year

And Charitha Pattiaratchi may be right

(Newser) - While the world reels at news that debris washed ashore on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean may be from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, there's one person who's not surprised. Charitha Pattiaratchi, an oceanography professor at the University of Western Australia, created models last year that showed...

20M Tons of Tsunami Debris Heads for US Shores

Expected to reach Hawaii in early 2013, then mainland in 2014

(Newser) - Debris from the massive tsunami that struck Japan in March is on its way: Up to 20 million tons of trash, like "confetti soup," is slowly drifting across the Pacific Ocean and heading toward the United States, reports the LA Times . Already garbage has been found 2,000...

Tar Balls Found Off Key West
 Tar Balls Found Off Key West 
May 18, 2010 7:29 AM CDT

Tar Balls Found Off Key West

But the Coast Guard isn't sure they're from the spill

(Newser) - Twenty tar balls have been found off Key West, though the Coast Guard stopped short of saying whether they came from the massive Gulf oil spill. The balls, which were 3-to-8 inches in diameter, were discovered yesterday by the Florida Park Service and have been sent to a lab for...

Rogue Iceberg May Alter Global Circulation
 Rogue Iceberg May 
 Alter Global Circulation 
IT'S LUXEMBOURG-SIZED
Feb 26, 2010 7:37 PM CST

Rogue Iceberg May Alter Global Circulation

Luxembourg-sized chunk from area where dense water forms

(Newser) - An iceberg the size of Luxembourg is floating free in the waters north of Antarctica, jarred loose by the impact of another iceberg—and it’s so big it could change the water movements at the root of global weather patterns. The area around the Mertz Glacier generates much dense,...

Study Predicts Rising Seas in Northeast

(Newser) - Increases in sea level caused by climate change could be dramatically larger than the world average in the densely populated Northeast, LiveScience reports. A new study shows that the melting Greenland ice cap and ocean dynamics will push 12 to 20 more inches of water toward New England and Canada...

Scientists Solve Riddle of 'Medieval Warm' Era

Finding debunks climate-change deniers

(Newser) - Atlantic ocean winds warmed Europe 1000 years ago, scientists say, scuttling a key argument used by those who deny current pollution is causing climate change. The natural regional phenomenon pinpointed as the cause of the Medieval Warm Period no longer exists and cannot be responsible for current global warming, reports...

Global Warming Will Buoy East Coast Sea Level

Altered Atlantic current means higher flood risk from Boston-DC

(Newser) - The effect of climate change on Atlantic currents will boost the threat of flooding along the US East Coast more than glacial melting alone, a study predicts. New York, Boston, and Washington, DC, are expected to experience more shoreline encroachment and have higher risk of storm surges as changing currents...

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