US scientists and China recorded the acceleration of the Antarctic circumpolar flow (ACC), which is going through the banks of Antarctica and passes through all time zones. The reason for changing the flow rate is climate change. This is reported in the article published in the Nature Climate Change magazine.
It is known that as the prevailing Western winds are predominantly enhanced. The models show that the amplification of the wind does not significantly change the ocean flows, but feeds the waterways, which are circular water movements. To understand how the water temperature affects the course, the researchers analyzed satellite data on the height of the sea surface, as well as the testimony of oceanic buoys tracking the parameters of the global circulation change.
It turned out that the change in the temperature of the ocean causes a significant acceleration of ocean currents, including Circumpolar. It is likely that the flow rate will increase even more, since the South Ocean continues to absorb heat, which is allocated on Wednesday as a result of human activity.
ACC separates cold water in the south of warm subtropical water in the north. The northern part of the Southern Ocean absorbs a lot of heat. When the gradient or heat difference between warm and cold water increases, the flow between these two masses is accelerated.