A Golden Mean

What makes Lofoton Island off the Norwegian coast situated far above within the Arctic Circle enjoy a mild climate even in severest winter? It is set on the 68 ° latitude but records a temperature 10°C higher than any spot in Siberia at the same latitude. This is the only place in the Arctic Circle where the sea doesn’t freeze thanks to the Gulf Stream that washes with warm currents what would have otherwise been a bleak and dismal shore. Researches carried out in the 50’s and 60 have helped us to understand the nature of ocean currents.
Did I hear anyone say it is 'manifest destiny ' of the Island?
There exists an oceanic deep-sea conveyor belt, which begins from this North Atlantic area. The sea being very cold its salinity is very heavy. Salt contents pour out of the frozen sea like a chimney of cold currents, which in turn is displaced by warmer Gulf streams. The cold currents thus released begin their trek along the shores of American continents driven to the west because of horizontal westerly winds above the sea. Along the continents at a depth of 4000 meters cold currents meanders at 10 cm per second through ridges and valleys cutting across to the Indian Ocean and finally runs into the Pacific covering a distance of some 5000kms. It would take about 2000 years to finally pour itself into Kermadic trenches, which is some 10 kilometers deep. The same current makes its return journey gathering warm currents as it speeds through the tropics; while one half was cold current it is now warm as it finishes off at the Greenland. One half of the loop is decidedly cold while the other is warm, which makes the hot tropics milder and brings in warmth in areas designated as winter zones. If in course of history events create conditions for a nation to the status of a superpower many factors went into its rise.
Come a thaw and let the polar caps melt. All these could change.
benny