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The Gulf Stream is yellow in this representation of water temperatures of the Atlantic from NASA. The Gulf Stream, also known as the North Atlantic Drift is a powerful warm, swift Atlantic ocean current that flows along the coast of the Eastern United States and makes Ireland, Great Britain, and the Scandinavian countries warmer than they would be otherwise. It originates in the Gulf of Mexico and runs past the east coast of the United States towards Newfoundland. Its extension toward Europe is called the North Atlantic drift. The Gulf Stream is one of the strongest ocean currents known. It transports 1.4 Peta watts of powerThe concept of power occurs in multiple areas. Physics Power (physics is the amount of work done per unit of time. Electric power Social Power (sociology) Political power Reserve power Power (international), the ability of national states to influence or.

The term "Gulf Stream" is sometimes used about the sum of what is described above and the North Atlantic drift.

As it travels northNorth is one of the four primary cardinal directions, specifically the direction treated, in Western culture, as the primary direction and used (explicitly or implicitly) to define all other directions. As to the arbitrary nature of this choice, and psych, some of the warm waterDrinking water This article focuses on water as we experience it every day. The water (molecule) article describes water from a scientific and technical perspective. Water is an abundant substance on Earth. It exists in many forms, such as sea, rain, and transported by the Gulf Stream evaporatesEvaporation is the process whereby atoms or molecules in a liquid state (or solid state if the substance sublimes) gain sufficient energy to enter the gaseous state. The thermal motion of a molecule must be sufficient to overcome the surface tension of th. This increases the salinitySalinity in Australian English may refer to soil salinity, see Salinity in Australia Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. Definitions The salt content of most natural lakes, rivers, and streams is so small that these wat of the water in the stream, and in the North Atlantic Ocean the water is so cold and heavy with saltFor other meanings of the word salt see salt (disambiguation In chemistry, a salt is a composed of positively charged cations and negatively charged anions, so that the product is neutral and without a net charge. They are typically the product of a chemi that it begins to sink. It then becomes a part of the North Atlantic Deep WaterThe North Atlantic Deep Water is a water mass in the Atlantic Ocean. It is largely formed in the Labrador Sea where the North Atlantic drift ends in the northeast Atlantic (northeast of Iceland) by the sinking of dense overflow water from the Norwegian Se, a southgoing stream.

The effect of the Gulf Stream is sufficient to cause certain parts of the west of Britain and Ireland to be an average of several degrees warmer than most other parts of those countries. Indeed, in Cornwall, and particularly the Isles of Scilly, its effects are such that plants associated with much warmer climes, such as palm trees are able to survive the rigours of northern winters. Logan Botanic Garden in Scotland benefits strongly from the Gulf Stream, allowing their specimens of Gunnera Manicata to grow to over 3 metres tall.

With the recent phenomenon of global warming, some scientists have expressed concern about the sink mechanism outlined above. Specifically, fresh water resulting from the melting of the Arctic polar cap could dilute the Gulf Stream and make it light enough not to sink. The result would be a huge climate change in northern Europe, with unknown consequences. Some fossil remnants hint at the possibility that a similar event has already happened several times in the past, but fossil evidence is questioned. After an initial rejection, the scientific community is evaluating this theory more seriously, as data about historic climate show sudden changes between cold and warm periods.