Iceland's government is sounding the alarm on Arctic melt. National leaders have classified it as a national security concern, citing research that shows the thaw could seriously impact the Atlantic Ocean's current system.

What's happening?

Iceland's climate minister recently told Reuters the potential for collapse in the Atlantic Ocean's current system is an existential threat to the country and the planet. Right now, rising global temperatures are causing Arctic ice sheets to thaw at unprecedented rates. The melting freshwater combines with ocean water and can impact the direction of the current.

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is the current system that brings warm, tropical waters northward, a factor that keeps European winters mild. The disruption of the system could eventually trigger a modern ice age, as occurred when it last collapsed more than 12,000 years ago.

Why are changing ocean currents important?

As ocean temperatures rise and land ice melts, ocean circulation slows down. That could have profound implications for the way heat is distributed across the Earth. The weakening currents not only affect the temperature outside, but also regional weather patterns for wind and rainfall. That directly impacts human activity, including where crops can be planted.

"Sea ice could affect marine transport; extreme weather could severely affect our capabilities to maintain any agriculture and fisheries, which are central to our economy and food systems," Climate Minister Johann Pall Johannsson said. "We cannot afford to wait for definitive, long-term research before acting."

While extreme weather has always presented a threat, scientists agree that climate change can exacerbate the problem. 

What's being done about changing currents and climate change?

Northern countries that would be directly impacted by changes to the current system are leading the charge against climate change. Recently, the Nordic Council of Ministers funded a workshop to assess how the effects could change society as we know it.

"There is tons of research on the likelihood of when exactly things are going to happen," said Aleksi Nummelin, a physical oceanographer at the Finnish Meteorological Institute. "There is much less on what is the actual societal impact."

In the meantime, global citizens should stay educated on critical climate issues. With the power of information, we can move forward to a cleaner, brighter future.

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