Russian scientists modeled mechanisms of sharp changes of the climate in the course of studies, carried out in the Atlantic Ocean. Natalya Bykova, a journalist, told about these works on the pages of an electronic version of Science and Technologies of Russia--STRF.ru. Staff members of the RAS Institute of Oceanology named after P. Shirshov studied the so-called intermediate waters in order to understand how the World Ocean is changing in the course of time and how these transformations can tell on the global climate. They are regarded as an indicator of the intensity of an inter-ocean global conveyor--a flow, forming due to diversity of properties and levels of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. This flow is slowly running on the water surface from the north of the Pacific Ocean to the north of the Atlantic, where it becomes cool, goes down to the depth and starts moving in the opposite direction. This process depends on what is taking place in intermediate depths. "In general it is impossible to measure,--explains the supervisor of studies, head of the laboratory of interaction between the ocean and atmosphere and monitoring of climatic changes, RAS Corresponding Member Sergei Gulyov--I cannot say that I measured the speed of an inter-ocean conveyor and that it runs at a speed of 2 cm per second. It is impossible to find a place in the ocean, where such measurements can be conducted. In reality, a lot of factors club together, which as a result bring about an inter-ocean global circulation. However, its intensity is rather well characterized by the speed of formation of intermediate waters in the north of the Atlantic, which can be registered." From 1997, the Institute of Oceanology annually organizes oceanic expeditions for detailed measurements of water parameters in the area of 60 °N between Greenland and British Isles. Though it is well-known to science that the main control lever of the inter-ocean conveyor is in the northern part of the ... Read more