Labrador Sea, Global Salinity Data, 2011
NASA's Aquarius Sees Salty Shifts. The first year of surface salinity measurements from NASA's Aquarius instrument unveils how the seasonal melting of sea ice causes a sharp decrease in sea surface salinity in the Labrador Sea and the coastal waters that surround Greenland. In spring and summer, surface currents transport the low salinity water south, where it meets warmer and saltier water carried north by the Gulf Stream. Launched June 10, 2011, onboard the Argentinian spacecraft Aquarius/SatÌ©lite de Aplicaciones CientÌ_ficas (SAC)-D, Aquarius is NASA's first satellite instrument specifically designed to study the salt content of ocean surface waters. Salinity variations, one of the main drivers of ocean circulation, are closely connected with the cycling of freshwater around the planet and provide scientists with valuable information on how the changing global climate is altering global rainfall patterns.
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Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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