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There is a giant equatorial maelstrom surrounded by three landmasses sucking warm water down to the bottom of the ocean. Somehow, magically or some weird physical process I haven't fixed on yet, this warm water re-enters the surface polar ocean system in a giant geyser

enter image description here

This Earth-like planet has a similar gravity, atmosphere (less oxygen), etc. but differs in that it has 0 axial tilt and is further from it's sun (red giant) but still close enough to have liquid water covering 65% of the surface.

I've read several posts here and elsewhere describing the banding properties of no tilt and have a fair concept of what climate would be like, but there's another variable that I have been considering that I have not been able to work out properly.

My idea is that in this world there is a maelstrom, a few miles wide, that has not stopped in thousands of years, only slowing or speeding up. Imagine the black hole eddies that have been seen in the Atlantic but on a much larger scale and that does not wander across the ocean but stays in one particular location. On top of this, through some magical or weird physical process this warm water is transferred to the other side of the globe and exits into a cold polar ocean.

Now if this was possible, and was in a made-up world filled with magic and with no axial tilt. How would this giant warm-water maelstrom and geyser into a cold water ocean effect the oceanic currents and weather?

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  • $\begingroup$ Depends. Where is the storm located. What are it's artificial traits compared to the natural local? Is it colder then the surrounding area? Warmer? Same temperature? Is it Over a landmass? A Pole? The Sea? The equator? $\endgroup$
    – PCSgtL
    Commented Mar 17, 2017 at 16:37
  • $\begingroup$ The maelstrom (whirlpool) would be located somewhere along the equatorial band and surrounded by three large landmasses that are broken by three channels. the geyser would be over open ocean with no visible landmasses but i would like an opinion on the difference of that warm ocean water being shot into the sky in a polar region that's colder than earths or if it was also along the equator.. let your mind go wild. $\endgroup$
    – Psychonautilus
    Commented Mar 17, 2017 at 16:46
  • $\begingroup$ Added a paint drawing (sorry for quality) to show about what the landmasses would look like surrounding the maelstrom $\endgroup$
    – Psychonautilus
    Commented Mar 17, 2017 at 16:51
  • $\begingroup$ I am fairly sure the momentum of all that rotating water (if your drawing depicts the entire planet) would end up in tilting the axis of the planet $\endgroup$
    – L.Dutch ♦
    Commented Mar 17, 2017 at 17:39
  • $\begingroup$ Your biggest problem is the massive amount of erosion that this will create. It can't have been going on for long becasue it will carve whatever opening it plunges into wider quite quickly, it will also smooth those shorelines. $\endgroup$
    – John
    Commented Mar 17, 2017 at 18:11

2 Answers 2

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You need a continuous, strong wind. The passate wind is okay for that.

You have to focus it with some mountains. Our Earth doesn't have a mountain system for that, but it would be possible. Around so:

enter image description here

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  • $\begingroup$ so on the drawing i put up, mountain ranges along the coastlines of the eastern landmasses, essentially. $\endgroup$
    – Psychonautilus
    Commented Mar 17, 2017 at 19:25
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    $\begingroup$ @Psychonautilus, welcome. It's normally a good idea to leave your question open for around 24 hours to give people from all the various timezones a chance to look at it and attempt an answer before accepting what you think is the best answer. Some people don't look at questions that are marked with an accepted answer. Don't worry, we all make the same mistake when we first join. You can also always change your accepted answer if you find a better answer but personally I have never figured out what the person you take the accepted green tick from feels like afterwards. $\endgroup$
    – EveryBitHelps
    Commented Mar 17, 2017 at 19:46
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A standard maelstrom is formed by a mixture of tides, currents and underwater terrain.

Your "maelstrom" is not that and is essentially a much larger version of the vortex you would see in a sink or bathtub when you pull the plug. You basically have a humongous drain in your ocean. All currents in your oceans will eventually lead there.

The 3 channels between your landmasses will all be flowing inward, and depending on the flow rate out the "drain" the channel currents may be strong enough to prevent outgoing traffic.

Your geyser, dumping a massive amount of equatorial water into a polar region, will make the land near there much warmer than they would otherwise be (similar to, but more extreme than the Gulf Stream's effect on England).

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    $\begingroup$ The term you are looking for is vortex. $\endgroup$
    – John
    Commented Mar 17, 2017 at 18:07
  • $\begingroup$ @John Thanks! I had looked up maelstrom, whirlpool and vortex. The definition for vortex I found seemed to be more applicable to airflow than water, but I have now found it directly related to drain flow. $\endgroup$
    – Michael Richardson
    Commented Mar 17, 2017 at 18:37
  • $\begingroup$ so potentially jungle climates at the pole that it's coming out at. which would lead to seem really funky air currents. $\endgroup$
    – Psychonautilus
    Commented Mar 17, 2017 at 19:30

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