The Zealandia Switch : Missing Link in Big Natural Climate Shifts?
The Southern Hemisphere may be the missing link in answering longstanding questions about how ice ages wax and wane, according to a new study. There, say researchers, complex interactions among the westerly wind system, the Southern Ocean and the tropical Pacific can trigger rapid global changes in atmospheric temperature. The mechanism, dubbed the Zealandia Switch, relates to the position of the Southern Hemisphere westerly wind belt the strongest wind system on Earth and the continental masses of the southwest Pacific Ocean around New Zealand. The researchers suggest it could again play a role, though not necessarily a predictable one, as humans push the planet into a warmer state.
The Zealandia Switch : Missing Link in Big Natural Climate Shifts? | Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory columbia.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from columbia.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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IMAGE: Moraines constructed during repeated advance-retreat cycles of one of the glaciers that extended out from the Southern Alps in New Zealand during the last ice age. Around 18,000 years ago,. view more
Credit: Photo courtesy of Aaron Putnam
Orono, Maine The origins of ice age climate changes may lie in the Southern Hemisphere, where interactions among the westerly wind system, the Southern Ocean and the tropical Pacific can trigger rapid, global changes in atmospheric temperature, according to an international research team led by the University of Maine.
The mechanism, dubbed the Zealandia Switch, relates to the general position of the Southern Hemisphere westerly wind belt the strongest wind system on Earth and the continental platforms of the southwest Pacific Ocean, and their control on ocean currents. Shifts in the latitude of the westerly winds affects the strength of the subtropical oceanic gyres and, in turn, influences the release of energy
Zealandia Switch may be the missing link in understanding ice age climates - UMaine News umaine.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from umaine.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.