The Wonder of Our Oceans

by Evelyn Browning Garriss

April 18, 2012

Tornadoes roar across the USA. Giant earthquakes rip Indonesia (8.7 on the Richter scale), Mexico (7.0), Gulf of California (7.0) and the Oregon coast region (5.5).Nations brace for giant tsunami waves to crash across the oceans. (Fortunately the waves didn’t come.) The Earth has been in constant movement this month.

It’s time to take a deep breath. We are on a giant ball spinning in space and sometimes it is a place of incredible beauty. Everything is moving, the air, the oceans, even the ground beneath us. It forms incredible patterns. Let’s step away from the scare headlines and enjoy the splendor of the Earth we live on.

Our planet and our oceans are in constant motion.

A team of artists and scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has assembled a short video that shows the ocean currents all over the world. Using satellite readings, sea measurements, even ship notes, the team, led by Greg Shirah, have assembled a model that shows the ebb and flow of the world’s oceans over two years. You can see the mighty Gulf Stream warming the American coastlines. Polar icecaps surge and melt. A cold La Niña chills the Tropical Pacific, and then warms to a balmy El Niño. A parade of swirls surrounds southern Africa like a necklace.

The video is a moment of quiet beauty. It shows the wonder of a living world.

Enjoy!

The flow of the world’s ocean currents [3 minutes] SOURCE: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

I will write about storms and droughts in future blogs. For now, if you have seen something beautiful or strange this spring, please share it here with our readers.

Evelyn Browning Garriss, historical climatologist, blogger, writer for The Old Farmer's Almanac, and editor of The Browning Newsletter, has advised farmers, businesses, and investors worldwide on upcoming climate events and their economic and social impact for the past 21 years.

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Comments

A beautiful post. Thanks for

Submitted by Almanac Staff

A beautiful post. Thanks for starting our day off with a smile, Evelyn!

Hi Evelyn. I have a question

Submitted by Julia T. (not verified)

Hi Evelyn. I have a question for you and its something that me and alot of people here in west virginia are concerened about! snow?? in late april?? its almost may! is the world coming to an end? its 2012! thats quite ironic if you ask me. What is causing this strange weather? are we gonna have a year without a summer? i see snow in july this year. somethings going on

We have some really cold

Submitted by Evelyn Browning...

We have some really cold polar conditions that a positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) pattern in the air has blocked since last November. Instead, all the cold air hit Asia, Europe and Alaska.

Now the NAO has become negative and is letting the cold air into the Midwest and Northeast. When it hits the warm, moist Atlantic air, we are getting snow and storms.

Fortunately this does not mean that we are getting a year without a summer. Indeed, there are some clues that it might get quite hot.

Thank you so much Evelyn. We

Submitted by Julia T. (not verified)

Thank you so much Evelyn. We are used to getting snow in the north but its different when its almost May and were this far into spring. After all this isnt February. maybe May will be warmer. Crossing my fingers on a hot summer. keep writing for us! You do a fine job. Dont work too hard though, we do enough of that mon-fri. i need to be gettin myself to bed so i can work work work tomorrow lol!

AS AN ORDINARY PERSON, I HAVE

Submitted by Maurice Loiselle

AS AN ORDINARY PERSON, I HAVE STUDIED THE EARTH AND MANY PLACES ALL OVER THE WORLD IN BOOKS AND DOCUMENTARIES AND MY OWN THEORIES.
THE MOON AND SUN ARE MY FAVOURITES, FOR THE PAST 30 YEARS, I STILL CANNOT GET ENOUGH.THE PERPETUAL OCEAN WAS EXCITING AND REAL.
THANK YOU. EVELYN