Part of the planet may freeze: scientists have discovered 'irreversible changes' in ocean currents

In a new study, scientists reported that a large system of ocean currents in the Atlantic, including the Gulf Stream, has been disrupted due to anthropogenic climate change. If this system collapses, there will be dramatic changes in weather conditions around the world. The publication told about this in more detail. USA Today.

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The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) transports warm salt water from the tropics north at the ocean surface and cold water south at the ocean floor.

“The AMOC is truly one of the key circulation systems of our planet,” said study author Niklas Boers of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.

The results of a similar 2018 study were compared to the scientifically inaccurate 2004 disaster film The Day After Tomorrow, which used the cessation of ocean currents as a premise for the film. At the time, the authors of the study stated that there were at least decades left before the collapse, but that it would be a disaster.

The potential collapse of this system of ocean currents will have serious consequences for the entire globe, according to the authors of the new study.

On the subject: A catastrophe like in The Day After Tomorrow: the currents of the world's oceans are slowing down, and this threatens with strong hurricanes

If circulation stops, it could cause severe cold weather in Europe and parts of North America, as well as raise sea levels along the east coast of the United States and disrupt the seasonal monsoons that provide water for much of the world.

This will, among other things, threaten the Amazon rainforest and the Antarctic ice sheets.

Researchers studying ancient climate change have found evidence that AMOC can suddenly stop, causing sudden temperature swings and other shifts in global weather systems.

Climate models have shown that AMOC is now in its weakest condition in over 1000 years. However, it is not known whether the attenuation is due to a change in circulation or a loss of stability.

“The difference is critical,” Behrs said. “Because the loss of dynamic stability would mean that the AMOC has approached its critical threshold, beyond which a significant and virtually irreversible transition to a weak regime can occur.”

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By examining key AMOC data, the scientists determined that the recent weakening is likely due to a loss of stability: “The findings support the assessment that the decline in AMOC is not simply a fluctuating or linear response to rising temperatures, but likely represents a critical threshold approaching beyond which the circulation system can collapse,” the scientist explained.

The study says a number of factors are likely important in disrupting the AMOC—factors that increase the direct impact of a warming Atlantic Ocean on its circulation. These include freshwater influxes from the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, melting sea ice, increased precipitation and river flows.

Fresh water is lighter than salt water and reduces the tendency of water to sink deeper from the surface. Other climate models suggest that AMOC will weaken over the next century, but complete extinction by 2100 is unlikely.

Levke Caesar of the University of Maynooth in Ireland, who was not involved in the study, said: “The study method cannot give us the exact time of a possible collapse, but the analysis provides evidence that the AMOC has already lost stability, and this can be taken as a warning that we are much closer to the AMOC stop than we think. "

The study's lead author, Boers, noted that “this is one of those events that should not happen, and we must do everything we can to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible. This is a situation we don't want to get involved in. "

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