News Climate

Climate change may be speeding up ocean circulation

Since the 1990s, wind speeds have picked up, making surface waters swirl faster

Deploying float to collect ocean data

Argo floats, such as this one being deployed in the Southern Ocean, measure water temperature, salinity and current speeds. Data from such floats suggest that ocean circulation has sped up.

SOCCOM Project/Cara Nissen/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

By Carolyn Gramling

- More than 2 years ago

Winds are picking up worldwide, and that is making the surface waters of the oceans swirl a bit faster, researchers report.