I tend to keep track of the SST maps at NOAH, there had been some persistant hot spots in the northern Gulf Stream for a couple years, recently they became cold spots on the anomoly map while the return current area is above average. Think this is the start of it shutting down? Think it will slow the ice cap loss? How will it influence the heat transfer mechanisms and SST at lower latitudes?

I don't think this is what your are talking about, Tomhye. Can you point me to the right mapping ?

And how do you think it might affect the hurricane season ?

The Hurricane Center Page, Atlantic Products, Sea Surface Temperature maps, their 7 day products haven't been updated for a while but their daily still is.

I'm really not sure, it would leave a lot more heat needing to leave the lower latitudes, but last year taught me just how unpredictable factors can be.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsst.shtml

?

Those cold spots off the NE coast were hot spots for a couple years when ice shelves were melting enough to break off (stronger than usual Gulf Stream), north of there kept changing but now it's warm, less ice going into the water. The warm spot west of the Straights of Gibraltar was a lot smaller too, seems to indicate less cold water coming down.

Gotcha. Thanks. I like these maps and will be keeping an eye on them, as well as the other maps at the site.

Another thing to watch is salinity. I don't know where that would be, but water that is less saline is denser, and would help shut down the flow of the Gulf Stream as more ice water melts.