Other experts agree that the Tasman Outflow exists, but are not convinced it plays a very significant role globally, primarily because it doesn't appear to carry that much water or much heat or salinity variation — essential for driving the thermohaline circulation — into the Indian Ocean.
"I think it's there, but it cannot be very large," said Arnold Gordon, associate director of Ocean and Climate Physics division at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University.
In terms of flow, the current is weak in comparison to others, Gordon added.
He said the Tasman Outflow could not flow at more than three sverdrups — one sverdrup being a million cubic meters of water per second, or about 264 million gallons per second. The Gulf Stream, by comparison, varies from 30 to 15 sverdrups. All the freshwater streams and rivers on Earth come to about one sverdrup, collectively.
"I do not think that's an important part of the thermohaline circulation," Gordon told Discovery News.
The bigger, far more important connection between the Pacific and Indian oceans is the three to seven sverdrups which navigate through Indonesia, he said. And since the resources for studying these currents are very limited, he suggested that research would be better focused around Indonesia.
"Inter-ocean exchanges are really important to the climate system," said Gordon. "We really do need to quantify them. I don't think the climate modelers are getting it right."
Related Links:
Geotimes
Geophysical Research Letters
More on the newly discovered deep ocean current.
