How was the Gulf Stream discovered?

Answer

The Spanish conquistadors had already discovered in 1513 that by using this current you could sail faster from the Caribbean to Spain.

But it was the American scientist Benjamin Franklin who first studied and mapped this movement (1786). This in the context of his research into the climate differences between North America and Western Europe.

The name “Gulfstream” was coined by Benjamin Franklin. Formerly it was also called the “Florida Stream” or the “Bahama Canal”.

The Gulf Stream is extremely important for Western Europe, because this warm sea current makes our climate on average 4 to 6°C warmer than one would expect based on latitude.

At the beginning of this century, some scientists feared that this flow would come to a standstill, under the influence of global warming and the melting of the polar ice. But more recent research, based on a lot more and reliable measurement data, cannot confirm this phenomenon.

Learn more about the Gulf Stream and other ocean currents on the Planet Sea educational website www.planeetzee.org. Then click on the map on buoy number 12 (The oceans as a conveyor belt) and buoy number 13 (Soon to a new ice age).