Atlantic Ocean showing signs of a significant long-term shift in temperatures from warm-to-cold

In addition to solar cycles, temperature cycles in the planet’s oceans play critical roles in our ever changing climate and also on the extent of global sea ice. Oceanic temperature cycles are often quite long-lasting and a warm or cold phase can persist for two or three decades at a time. In general, the Atlantic Ocean experienced a cold phase from the early 1960’s to the mid 1990’s at which time it flipped to a warm phase and that has continued for the most part ever since. The current warm phase; however, is now showing signs of a possible long-term shift back to colder-than-normal sea surface temperatures (SST) and this could have serious implications on US climate and sea ice areal extent in the Northern Hemisphere.

On a longer time scale, there is supporting evidence from the National Oceanographic Data Center that something significant is indeed occurring in the Atlantic Ocean. Since around early 2007, there has been a definitive downward trend in “monthly heat content anomaly” in the top 700 meters of the northern Atlantic Ocean (arrow region). The heat content in this part of the Atlantic Ocean ramped up rather sharply beginning around the middle 1990’s and seemingly peaked during early 2007.

Look out Europe - its going to get cold!!

[link to www.vencoreweather.com]