Scientists have uncovered “hotspots” where some parts of the Barents Sea are starting to more closely resemble the Atlantic. They call this phenomenon “Atlantification”.
Try this MCQ:
Q.The Atlantification phenomenon sometimes seen in news is most closely related to which of the following seas/water bodies?
a) Norwegian Sea
b) Kara Sea
c) Barents Sea
d) Baffin Bay
What is Atlantification?
- Streams of warmer water from the Atlantic Ocean flow into the Arctic at the Barents Sea.
- This warmer, saltier Atlantic water is usually fairly deep under the more buoyant Arctic water at the surface.
- Lately, however, the Atlantic water has been creeping up. That heat in the Atlantic water is helping to keep ice from forming and melting existing sea ice from below.
- This process is called “Atlantification”.
- The ice is now getting hit both from the top by a warming atmosphere and at the bottom by a warming ocean.
Reasons for it
- In the background of all of this is global climate change.
- The Arctic sea ice extent and thickness have been dropping for decades as global temperatures rise.
- As the Arctic loses ice and the ocean absorbs more solar radiation, global warming is amplified.
- That affects ocean circulation, weather patterns and Arctic ecosystems spanning the food chain, from phytoplankton all the way to top predators.
