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In my worldbuilding, I have physically moved the whole Old World (Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia) so far eastward that the Prime Meridian is in Europe's farthest city, Lisbon, rather than Greenwich. This results in a wider Atlantic as well as a land bridge linking Asia to North America.
How would this change affect ocean circulation?
JohnWDailey
Posted 2015-06-09T21:36:07.200
Reputation: 13 053
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1)That's only about 800 km. for Lisbon. Widening the Atlantic that much really should not affect the circulation patterns. Closing the gap at the northern Pacific also should not make much difference, since there is almost no oceanic circulation through the Bering Straits. Otherwise, there doesn't seem any good reason to assume the global conveyor would be affected.
2) I think that the above is based on what you meant, but you should be aware that the prime meridian was not picked on any geographic basis. It was essentially a political decision, and the dominant factor was the preeminence of British trade, which always used the British navigation tables and maps with Greenwich defined as the prime meridian. International acceptance occurred in 1884. The French were miffed (they argued forcefully for Paris), and went their own way for nearly 30 years.
WhatRoughBeast
Posted 2015-06-09T21:36:07.200
Reputation: 24 615
Bearing straight closing would heavily isolate the arctic,no? Pacific wouldnt change much, but arctic could. – Twelfth – 2015-06-09T23:07:10.190
@Twelfth, most arctic circulation goes through the north Atlantic, not the Bering Strait. – Mark – 2015-06-10T00:03:56.567
2@Twelfth - The Bering Straits are only 50 miles wide, and average less than 150 feet deep. That won't let much water through, and the Straits are not known for their strong current. – WhatRoughBeast – 2015-06-10T00:08:49.700
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The answer is that there really is no simple answer. You need to get an ocean circulation model that lets you modify the geography (start looking here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ocean_circulation_models ), put in your proposed changes, and see what happens. Then you'll probably want an atmospheric/climate model coupled to it...
jamesqf
Posted 2015-06-09T21:36:07.200
Reputation: 13 350
Doesn't this question fit better on EarthScience.SE? – Aify – 2015-06-09T21:43:11.730
I would suggest we put this on hold for the meantime. – Vincent – 2015-06-09T22:31:50.240
I agree with Vincent. This question has potential, but it is currently unclear about the premise. – Frostfyre – 2015-06-09T22:58:05.310
WhatRoughBeast already got it covered for me. There's no need to put it on hold. – JohnWDailey – 2015-06-09T23:05:32.650
@JohnWDailey, I think I understand what you are asking. I recommend that you provide a more thorough explanation to keep the question open. Also you might drop the Meridian comment as it seems to confuse folks. Just say you're opening the Atlantic up by so many degrees longitude and then ask your question. – Jim2B – 2015-06-10T01:31:08.653
Reading the answer I think I misunderstood your question the first time but I still think the clarity could be improved. – Vincent – 2015-06-10T01:36:18.670
@JohnWDailey The point is that, your question will stay on the site and might be useful for other users in the future. – Vincent – 2015-06-10T16:12:29.450
As one of the people who voted to close this, I would love to reopen it, but the recent edits haven't changed the question. I originally voted to close it because your intent differed from what the question stated, making the premise unclear. – Frostfyre – 2015-06-10T20:04:16.190
2@JohnWDailey I can appreciate that you got the answer you wanted but the long term purpose of questions on any SE site is to make it useful for others in the future. Changing the title/question was specifically intended to make it more usable to future users. The original, and now restored title does nothing to help a person with a question to identify what is asked and answered in the post. – James – 2015-06-10T20:27:40.233
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meridian_%28geography%29 – Vincent – 2015-06-10T20:38:46.167
2The edits to your titles are happening because they make your questions clearer. Rolling them back is unhelpful as it makes your questions harder to find for people who want to answer them. Community editing is here for this purpose; unless you strongly disagree with an edit or it's incorrect, it's a good idea to let the processes do their jobs. – ArtOfCode – 2015-06-10T20:45:30.320
3this question does not match the title at all. – Oldcat – 2015-06-10T23:32:29.903