Scientists have uncovered “hotspots” where some parts of the Barents Sea are starting to more closely resemble the Atlantic. They call this phenomenon “Atlantification”.

Try this MCQ:

Q.The Atlantification phenomenon sometimes seen in news is most closely related to which of the following seas/water bodies?

a) Norwegian Sea

b) Kara Sea

c) Barents Sea

d) Baffin Bay

What is Atlantification?

• Streams of warmer water from the Atlantic Ocean flow into the Arctic at the Barents Sea.
• This warmer, saltier Atlantic water is usually fairly deep under the more buoyant Arctic water at the surface.
• Lately, however, the Atlantic water has been creeping up. That heat in the Atlantic water is helping to keep ice from forming and melting existing sea ice from below.
• This process is called “Atlantification”.
• The ice is now getting hit both from the top by a warming atmosphere and at the bottom by a warming ocean.

Reasons for it

• In the background of all of this is global climate change.
• The Arctic sea ice extent and thickness have been dropping for decades as global temperatures rise.
• As the Arctic loses ice and the ocean absorbs more solar radiation, global warming is amplified.
• That affects ocean circulation, weather patterns and Arctic ecosystems spanning the food chain, from phytoplankton all the way to top predators.

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