Ocean currents' effect on climate change

Noel Kirkpatrick -

Scientists may be closer to figuring out why the tropical forests that once covered the American Midwest more than 30 million years ago have now turned into cornfields.
 
And it all has to do with the temperature of the oceans.

According to a new study, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is believed to be responsible for these shifts in the world’s climate, and for longer than was originally believed.
 
Oceans and global temperatures are connected as warm waters create warmer temperatures and vice versa.
 
As water temperatures cool, so did the climate around the world, resulting in changes to landscapes.
 
The ACC is often considered the “mixmaster” of the oceans, as it redirects warmer waters back to the northern Atlantic Ocean. This redirection of water over time is responsible for the four-layer ocean current and the heat distribution system.
 
"What we have found is that the evolution of the ACC influenced global ocean circulation much earlier than previous studies have shown," said Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute scientist Miriam Katz, who led the study.
 
The debate among scientists has centered on when the global climate shifted and the extent of the role the ACC had in that.

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