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hubie [soylentnews.org] writes:

By combining seawater data taken from clam shells and thousands of climate simulations, researchers found that 900 years of cooling in the Gulf of Maine were suddenly reversed in the late 1800s [iastate.edu]:

The "recent, rapid ocean warming" was "likely due to increased atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations and changes in western North Atlantic circulation," the researchers wrote in a paper just published by the scientific journal Communications Earth & Environment [nature.com].

[...] The researchers also wrote that because of projected increases in greenhouse gas concentrations, plus projected weakening of the ocean currents that continually mix warm surface water and cooler, deeper water, "this warming trend in the Gulf of Maine is likely to continue, leading to continued and potentially worsening ecologically and economically devastating temperature increases in the region in the future."

[...] "The Gulf of Maine has naturally been cooling for the last 1,000 years, and now the reverse is happening," Wanamaker said. "It took 900 years to cool 2 degrees Celsius and 100 years to warm 2 degrees Celsius."

The research team traces the change back to the spread of industrialization, writing that cooling caused by the ash and gases produced by volcanic activity and ocean dynamics quickly reversed as machines, manufacturing and industry developed in the 1800s.

[...] "It is clear that the mid- to late-1800s were a time of dramatic change in the North Atlantic, as documented both in the Gulf of Maine geochemical records presented and discussed in this study, as well as other records of temperature and ocean circulation changes throughout the North Atlantic," the researchers wrote.

Journal Reference:
Whitney, N.M., Wanamaker, A.D., Ummenhofer, C.C. et al. Rapid 20th century warming reverses 900-year cooling in the Gulf of Maine [open]. Commun Earth Environ 3, 179 (2022). 10.1038/s43247-022-00504-8 [doi.org]

Original Submission