The Gulf Stream: Its History and Links to Coastal Impacts and Climate Change

The Gulf Stream (GS) is possibly the world's most widely recognized oceanic feature-from encounters by Spanish sailors in the 1500s, to Benjamin Franklin's charts in the 1700s, to early observations by Stommel and other in the 1900s. Today, modern undersea observations, satellite data, and computer models have revealed the GS's complex nature, though some challenges remain. This review provides an overview of past and recent studies of the GS, with a focus on links between the GS, extreme weather events, climate change, and coastal impacts. Examples of those links include a potential slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and the GS that could increase coastal flooding, and hurricanes that disrupt the flow of the GS and cause posthurricane coastal sea level rise. A better understanding of the role of the GS in the Earth's system will help in the prediction of future climate change.