Due to colossal changes in ocean circulation, the North Atlantic has become saltier over the past 50 years compared to the world’s other great ocean, the Pacific.
The Atlantic Ocean is saltier than the Pacific. Evaporation is more intense in the Atlantic, especially in the tropics and subtropics, which increases its salinity by reducing the amount of water. The Pacific is also connected to several important river systems, being constantly refreshed with water from the mountains and streams of the continent.
A new study shows that changes in climate and the global weather system are intensifying this effect, widening the difference in salinity between the two oceans, notes Noi.md with reference to .
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that the difference in salinity between the Atlantic and the Pacific increased by nearly 6 percent between 1965 and 2018, an effect particularly noticeable in the first 800 meters of water in the northern midlatitudes.
The main factors that could explain this phenomenon are heating and wind. Higher ocean temperatures have caused the thermocline (a layer of water characterized by rapid temperature change) to move poleward. Simultaneously, the wind changes pushed the mid-latitude waters closer together.
Although these effects were also observed in the Pacific, they are more pronounced in the Atlantic, explaining the large increase in salinity.
