The collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation isn’t impossible.
, the warming of the planet causes the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation , the formal name for the overall system of Atlantic Ocean currents, to effectively collapse—inducing a new ice age upon the planet.
But the collapse of AMOC isn’t impossible. In fact, we're rapidly reaching a tipping point, thanks to climate change, according to a new studythat predicts it could collapse by the middle of the century, possibly even as early as 2025. The ocean currents that comprise AMOC work like conveyor belts to carry warm water from the southern latitudes into the North Atlantic. Heat from the south causes colder, saltier water in the north to sink.
Ditlevsen and his co-author ran their study by looking at sea surface temperature data of the North Atlantic stretching back to 1870, which can help tell us about the historical stability of AMOC. After running new analyses, they came to conclude that AMOC is getting more unstable over time. Mechanisms that maintain regularity are falling apart.
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