It turned out that cyclones accelerate global warming
(ORDO NEWS) — Severe storms seem to accelerate the course of Kuroshio, which runs from the Philippines to the Kuril Islands and brings warm water there.
It turned out that cyclones accelerate global warming
Powerful tropical cyclones in the North Pacific can make currents stronger. Thus, the northern waters will heat faster, accelerating climate change on the planet.
In particular, storms accelerate the dark course of Kuroshio, which can further warm the northern latitudes in the region of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. Researchers have long argued that climate change will make tropical cyclones more powerful. This means that a vicious circle is formed: the warmer, the stronger the storms, and the more intense the ocean currents, which bring even more heat.
The effects of tropical cyclones on climate are usually not taken into account in most climate models. The impact of short-term storms was considered negligible, says oceanographer Yu Zhang from Ocean University of China in Qingdao.
But the ocean does not sleep: in it there are huge eddies formed by currents. These, as they are called, mesoscale eddies, as a rule, persist for several months, have a width of 10 to 100 kilometers and extend to a depth of more than 1000 meters. That is, these vortices are key players in mixing water, redistributing heat, salts and nutrients.
Kuroshio is a fast and very wide ocean current, originating off the east coast of the Philippines and transporting warm tropical waters north to the coast of Japan and Russia, warming them and creating conditions for fucking rich fishing grounds. This course can be compared with the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic, warming northwestern Europe.
Kuroshio’s speed is primarily associated with winds, but the strength of these winds has decreased by more than 30% over the past 20 years. At the same time, the current did not slow down as much as one would expect, Zhang says.
A team of scientists discovered that storms increased the strength of vortices rotating counterclockwise and reduced the strength of vortices rotating in the opposite direction. According to the researchers, when the vortices come back during, for example, off the coast of Taiwan, they significantly accelerate it.
Acceleration Kuroshio can create a positive feedback from global warming, delivering more heat to higher latitudes, helping to warm them even more, the researchers say. This warming can lead to the appearance of stronger cyclones, which, in turn, can accelerate the flow in a continuous cycle.
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