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The Wonder of Our Oceans | The Old Farmer's Almanac

The Wonder of Our Oceans

James J. Garriss
November 18, 2015
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Tornadoes roar across the USA. Giant earthquakes shake the Earth. Storms rip across the continent. Nations brace for giant tsunami waves to crash across the oceans. The Earth is in constant movement.

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.

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

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Comments

Maurice Loiselle (not verified)

10 years ago

THANK YOU EVELYN FOR ALL YOUR WORK.

Maurice Loiselle (not verified)

10 years ago

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

Julia T. (not verified)

10 years 1 month ago

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 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.