This image shows approximately 100 square kilometers (39 square miles) of the North Atlantic region off the southwest coast of Norway, where the warm Gulf Stream meets frigid Arctic waters. The result of these unstable ocean conditions is a spectacular surface display of swirls or vortices that indicate vigorous mixing. As the oceans continue to warm, it is unclear what effect that will have on the Gulf Stream, which warms Europe. March 9, 2004.