In an effort to warn of changes in ocean circulation that may affect the global climate, Australian scientists want to string a vast array of probes across the oceans of the southern hemisphere. The senior science adviser to the UN-backed World Climate Research Programme has called for the establishment of a network of deep ocean moorings to extend a system already in operation in the northern hemisphere.
Instruments could be strung across the South Atlantic and through the Indonesian archipelago, as well as in the Southern Ocean where special designs would be necessary, said John Church of the government-backed Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.
After a year of observation, a team of international scientists this week reported that the conveyor belt circulation system may vary widely over 12 months, but there was not yet enough data to tell whether global warming was having an impact.
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