Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico, exits through the Strait of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean. At about 30 degrees West, 40 degrees North, it splits in two, with the northern stream crossing to northern Europe and the southern stream recirculating off West Africa. The Gulf Stream influences the climate of the east coast of North America from Florida to Newfoundland, and the west coast of Europe.
There is some speculation that global warming could decrease or shutdown thermohaline circulation and therefore reduce the North Atlantic Drift. The timescale that this might happen in is unclear; estimates range from a few decades to a few hundred years. This could trigger localised cooling in the North Atlantic and lead to cooling (or lesser warming) in that region, particularly affecting areas that are warmed by the North Atlantic Drift, such as Scandinavia and Great Britain. The chances of this occurring are unclear.
Related Stories
1
2
Earth & Climate News
May 13, 2026
May 13, 2026 Humans may have returned to Britain far earlier than scientists once believed — not long after the last ice sheet began retreating. New evidence suggests people were already moving into the British ...
May 13, 2026 Researchers have uncovered unexpectedly high levels of silicone-based pollutants called methylsiloxanes floating through the atmosphere across cities, rural regions, and even forests. Much of the pollution appears to come from vehicle emissions, ...
May 12, 2026 Researchers created a special kind of algae that can grab microscopic plastic pollution out of water almost like a magnet. The algae produce limonene, an orange-scented oil that helps them bind to water-repelling microplastics, forming ...
May 11, 2026 The Toba supereruption 74,000 years ago was so massive it may have plunged Earth into years of darkness and cold, leading some scientists to believe humanity nearly went extinct. Yet archaeological ...
May 10, 2026 A team at the University of Hong Kong has developed a new “super steel” that can survive the harsh conditions needed to make green hydrogen from seawater. The material uses an unexpected double-protection mechanism that resists corrosion far ...
May 10, 2026 A colossal underwater volcano in the South Pacific may have revealed a surprising new weapon against climate change. After the 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai, scientists detected enormous amounts of formaldehyde in the atmosphere — ...
May 10, 2026 Scientists have uncovered strong evidence that a major Atlantic Ocean current system tied to global climate is weakening. The slowdown has been detected across a vast region of the North Atlantic ...
May 10, 2026 Scientists have uncovered a hidden Antarctic threat that could accelerate global sea level rise far faster than expected. Deep beneath floating ice shelves, long channels carved into the ice appear ...
May 8, 2026 Beneath the beauty of coral reefs lies a hidden universe of microbes unlike anything scientists expected. Each coral species supports its own specialized microbial partners, many of which have never ...
May 6, 2026 Cumberland, B.C. is reimagining its coal mining past as a clean energy opportunity. Water trapped in abandoned mine tunnels could be used in a geothermal system to heat and cool buildings efficiently and with minimal emissions. The project could ...
May 6, 2026 Southern Alaska’s winter finale delivered a spectacular atmospheric display, captured by a NASA satellite. Cold Arctic air flowing over warmer ocean waters created long bands of clouds, swirling vortex patterns, and even a compact polar storm with ...
May 4, 2026 Greenland’s ice sheet is now melting in ways never seen before, with extreme events becoming more frequent, widespread, and intense. Since 1990, meltwater production has skyrocketed, and most record-breaking events have occurred in recent years. ...
Latest Headlines
updated 12:56 pm ET
May 4, 2026 Scientists are using sunlight to turn plastic waste into clean fuels like hydrogen, offering a breakthrough solution to both pollution and energy challenges. While still in development, the approach ...
May 3, 2026 Long before humans spread across the globe, a deadly disease may have quietly shaped where our ancestors lived—and even how we evolved. New research reveals that malaria didn’t just threaten ...
May 2, 2026 Crabs’ famous sideways walk may trace back to a single evolutionary moment 200 million years ago. Researchers found that most modern crabs inherited this trait from one ancestor—and never looked ...
May 2, 2026 A centuries-old vision of a mechanical volcano has finally erupted into reality, as two University of Melbourne engineering students recreated a design first imagined in 1775 by volcanology ...
May 2, 2026 Two of the most dangerous fault systems on the U.S. West Coast may be more connected than scientists once thought. New research suggests the Cascadia subduction zone and the San Andreas fault can ...
May 1, 2026 Scientists have uncovered a tiny wall-dwelling spider named Pikelinia floydmuraria, inspired by Pink Floyd. Despite its size, it’s a fierce predator that hunts ants much larger than itself and ...
Apr. 30, 2026 Australia’s famous Twelve Apostles didn’t just erode into existence—they were slowly pushed up from the ocean floor by powerful tectonic forces over millions of years, new research reveals. ...
Apr. 30, 2026 Deep beneath the Southern Ocean, a quiet but alarming shift is underway: warm water is creeping closer to Antarctica, and scientists are now seeing it clearly for the first time. By combining decades ...
Apr. 29, 2026 For the first time, scientists have watched a subduction zone literally fall apart beneath the ocean floor. Using advanced seismic imaging, they found the Juan de Fuca plate splitting into fragments ...
Apr. 29, 2026 New experiments suggest that freezing and thawing on early Earth may have helped primitive cell-like structures grow and evolve. Tiny lipid bubbles behaved very differently depending on their ...