Mars is influencing the deep ocean by creating ‘giant whirlpools’, according to new research.
Scientists analyzed sediment drilled from hundreds of deep-sea locations over the past half-century to look back into Earth’s past tens of millions of years ago, to better understand the power of deep ocean currents . What they found surprised them as a result.
According to research published March 13 in the journal Nature Communications, sedimentologists revealed that deep-sea currents have weakened and strengthened over a 2.4 million-year climate cycle.
Scientists did not expect to discover these cycles and there is only one way to explain them: “They have relating to the cycles in the interaction of Mars and the Earth orbiting the Sun.” This is the first study to make these connections.
The two planets influence each other through a phenomenon called “resonance,” which is when two orbiting objects exert repulsive and gravitational forces on each other. This interaction changes the shape of their orbits, affecting their circularity and their distance from the sun.
For Earth, this interaction with Mars translates into periods of increased solar energy meaning a warmer climate, and these warmer cycles correlate with stronger ocean currents.
Although these 2.4 million-year cycles influence warming and ocean currents on Earth, dietmar Müller, a professor of geophysics at the University of Sydney and co-author of the study, said. they are natural climate cycles and are unrelated to the rapid warming the world is experiencing today as humans continue to burn fossil fuels.
The authors describe these currents or eddies as “giant eddies” that can reach the deep ocean floor, eroding the seafloor and causing massive sediment accumulation, like snowdrifts.
The study’s authors say it’s still unclear exactly how different processes will affect deep ocean currents and marine life in the future, but they hope this new research will help build a model for the future. better picture of future climate outcomes.
