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The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexicoand stretches to the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean as the North Atlantic Current.
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The Gulf Stream system conveys warm surface water from equator to the north and the deeper cold, low-salinity water down south. It works like a giant conveyor belt.
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Why in news?
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A recent study has revealed the slowing of the Gulf Stream system. It notes that never before in a 1,000 year period as the Gulf Stream system been as slow as it is in the last decade.
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Increased rainfall and melting of the Greenland Ice sheet may have likely contributed to the observed slowing down of the Gulf Stream.
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