The Gulf Stream

Amid contemporary scenarios of potential climatic catastrophes and global warming that might be imagined to bring a new ice age, the powerful image of the Gulf Stream rising from the Florida Straits and flowing to the north Atlantic inevitably provokes questions about its ecological significance and whether it might ever stop. Answering these questions demands the sober presentation, given here, of the remarkable scientific fact that even dramatic climatic change would not bring an end to the Gulf Stream. Combining complex scientific information with an engaging narrative, this volume paints an elaborate but accessible portrait of this extraordinary natural phenomenon, tracing its historical discovery and the paradigms of its exploration, outlining its causes and dynamics, and examining its profound importance for the marine ecosystems of the Atlantic Ocean.