Sea Camp: Why Are Ocean Currents Shifting?

Ocean currents are the continuous movement of water that play critical roles in distributing heat, nutrients, and supporting ecosystems. Surface currents, driven largely by winds and influenced by factors like temperature and the Earth's rotation, have remained stable for centuries — famously mapped by Benjamin Franklin with the Gulf Stream still running the same path since the 1760s.

However, climate change is causing these surface currents to significantly accelerate across more than three quarters of the oceans. This speed-up is due to warming surface waters expanding and increasing pressure differences, pushing currents faster and possibly shifting their locations poleward. This could disrupt fish migrations and ecosystem dynamics.

Meanwhile, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), the deep and surface current system that redistributes warm and cold water in the Atlantic, is slowing down. This slowdown may lead to severe consequences like increased storms, sea level rise on the U.S. East Coast, and colder climates in Northern Europe. These changes underscore the urgent need to curb CO2 emissions to avoid worsening climate impacts.

• Benjamin Franklin's cousin used knowledge of the Gulf Stream to cross the Atlantic much faster than official postal ships.
• Franklin mapped the Gulf Stream in the 1700s, and it remains accurate today.

• Ocean surface currents are driven by temperature, salinity, coastlines, wind, and Earth's rotation (Coriolis effect).
• These factors combine to create well-known currents like the Gulf Stream and California Current.