Saltiness of oceans warn of climate change

Innsbruck, Austria -- Keeping tabs on the saltiness of ocean water could provide an early and accurate indicator of climate change, Spanish scientists report.

The southern hemisphere oceans around South Africa and New Zealand are the places to monitor, said scientists who presented their findings at a recent European Science Foundation conference in Innsbruck, Austria.

Significant salt increases or decreases in those areas could forewarn of climate change in 10- to 20 years time, the report said.

"Salt plays a far more important role that we first thought," said Rainer Zahn, a scientist at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain.

The scientists discovered a build up of salt in the waters off the coast of South Africa could help to speed up ocean circulation in the North Atlantic, despite the two areas being thousands of miles apart.

"A salt surge is enough to kick start circulation," said Zahn, explaining ocean circulation causes significant climate change because it affects atmospheric circulation patterns.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.