Jasmine: Hi, I'm Jasmine.
Chrissy: I'm Chrissy.
Jasmine: We're from NIU STEAM and...
Chrissy: You're listening to The Sound of Science on WNIJ.
Mike [pre-recorded]: Hi, it's Mike from Naperville. My question is what would happen to the Earth if the oceans stopped having their currents. How much would that affect our life?
Jasmine: Another great question from Mike out of Naperville. We talk about ocean levels a good deal but how do their currents affect us?
Chrissy: The Earth's currents operate as a global circulation system that work like a series of interconnected conveyor belts transporting heat, nutrients, debris, and marine life around the World. lf we simplify things, there are 4 main components: the Gulf Stream originating in the Gulf of Mexico, the Kuroshio Current in the Philippines, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that surrounds Antarctica, and the North Atlantic Deep Water currents.
Jasmine: Ocean currents significantly impact our planet by regulating global climate patterns and distributing heat, preventing extreme temperature fluctuations, and unpredictable weather. They also distribute sediment and nutrients along coastlines, where changes could lead to severe erosion and flooding, affecting coastal infrastructure. Without the currents, sea levels and environmental conditions would lose their predictability challenging all planetary life.
Chrissy: The currents help distribute nutrients and minerals around the Globe preserving ocean chemistry, marine productivity, and marine populations that rely on migration. Population declines and even extinction would be observed as resource availability, reproduction, and the homeostatic requirements of marine species would be compromised. Water toxicity would spike as algal blooms became more frequent and severe. World economic catastrophe and a sharp increase in food insecurity would ensue as the fishing industry commercial, private, and cultural would fail and collapse.
Jasmine: You have been listening to The Sound of Science on WNIJ, where you learn something new every day!
