A new study finds, thanks to climate change, that the Gulf Stream is circulating at its slowest rate in at least 1,600 years. This slowing accounts for the severe 2017-18 winter in the UK. If the circulation stops completely, it would have catastrophic impacts on our weather.
By Sean Breslin weather.com
Gulhttps://weather.com/news/news/2018-04-12-gulf-stream-slowing-climate-change-studyf Stream Slowest in 1600 Years Could Cause Changes in Weather
Scientists report concerns over a dramatic slowdown in the Gulf Stream, the ocean current that carries water from the tropics toward the North Pole.
At a Glance
- A new study has found the Gulf Stream is circulating at its slowest rate in at least 1,600 years.
- Climate change is to blame for the slowdown, the study also concluded.
- If the circulation stops completely, it would have catastrophic impacts on our weather.
For years, scientists have studied a spot in the North Atlantic Ocean that has bucked the trend of a warming world. Now, they know what impact this colder-than-average region is having on the Gulf Stream.
According to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, the Gulf Stream is flowing at its slowest rate in at least 1,600 years, and climate change is the likely culprit…
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The Most Revolutionary Act 
How do they know it’s been the slowest Gulf stream in 1600 years whereas the people in 418AD all thought the world was flat for another 1,072 years?
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Good question, Bob. It’s my impression they calculate the strength of the Gulf Stream from tree rings and pollen studies. When the Gulf Stream is strong, winters are warm and short and summers are long. Tree rings record quite accurately the warmth and length of a growing season in any given year. The type of pollen produced (which they can date with carbon 14) also provides indirect evidence of average temperatures. If a summer is unusually cold or short, some plant species don’t bloom at all.
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