Future Ice Age is near?

Question

Due to global warming, more fresh ice melting to sea, reduce sea saltness this can shud down El nino(warm current), this can cause sudden Ice Age.

Answer 1

it is near all of europe will be under ice

Answer 2

Oh good, something new (again) for the mindless to worry about.

Answer 3

NO, all the future scientists are not wrong. They are entirely correct. The ice age will be caused by global warming. The warming will melt the polar ice cap which will release tons of water into the upper atlantic. This will cause the Gulf Stream to stop, because the water falling, which drives all the ocean's current movements, will stop. The gulf stream brings warm water up the European Coast, and if it stops, then Europe's temperature will cool down and fall into an ice age.

The Ice Age will probably last a thousand or so years, until Global Warming heats up the ocean and the freshwater dissapates. Then we will be back to normal and still have the problem of Global Warming.

Answer 4

Good grief!

So the all the world leading and respected scientists are wrong!

Answer 5

It's unlikely to happen but if it did it would only affect certain parts of the world - namely the North Atlantic countries in north western Europe.

The working of the Gulf Stream aren't particularly well understood and one theory is that cold meltwater running off the Arctic and Greenland Ice Caps could interupt the Gulf Stream.  It's only a theory and even if the theory is correct then it's only a possibility that it will happen.

If it did happen the countries affected would see temperatures fall by up to 10 degrees Celsius.  Other countries would become significantly warmer.

The Gulf Stream is one part of the world's thermohaline circulation (ocean currents), this carries warm and cool water around the oceans - it doesn't actually generate heat only moves it.  If the Gulf Stream were to 'switch off' the warmth that it carries would be diverted elsewhere.

Thermohaline circulation is governed by density of the water, density is affected by temperature and salinity (thermo means temperature and haline means salt).  Meltwater from the Arctic regions is cold, fresh water.  Because it's cold it's more dense and sinks, this would push cold water UNDER the Gulf Stream but at the same time it's also fresh water which is less dense than salt water so it would flow OVER the Gulf Stream.  This conflict makes it hard to predict what will happen - the Gulf Stream may be pushed backwards so it terminates in the Mid Atlantic, it may be diverted off course taking warm water to a different part of the ocean, it may be unaffected, it may shut down altogether.

Answer 6

thats incorrect its actully the warming of the tundras in russia and northern europe that causes the siberian rivers to dump more fresh water than usual into the atlantic ocean since freshwater is less dense then salt water it is likly going to cause the  North Atlantic Drift (gulf stream) to shutdown. since the  North Atlantic Drift is responsible for taking warm water north twoards europe it would cause much or it to become simular to the Russian tundra.