This essential ocean phenomenon could disappear — but there's still time to save it.
The Atlantic Ocean, which spans over 40 million square miles, has an enormous current system that circulates the ocean's waters. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, is known as the global conveyor belt, as it brings warm waters to the north and cool waters to the south.
Scientists were concerned that global heating would disrupt the Atlantic's current, but a new study in the journal Nature Communications may put those worries to rest.
Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution found that "the AMOC has not declined in the last 60 years," they wrote in a summary post on Phys.org.
It's no guarantee, but it suggests the AMOC is less fragile than we thought. Previous research reported a decline in the AMOC, so even with new information, "whether or not it will collapse is still up for debate," researcher Nicholas P. Foukal said in the post by Woods Hole on Phys.org.
The AMOC is already a slow process, but research shows the currents slowing even further. Scientists believe it will eventually completely stop, but they aren't sure when.
AMOC's predicted collapse is attributed to rising temperatures — as the planet warms, polar ice caps near Greenland melt, releasing freshwater into the Atlantic and slowing its cycle. The Atlantic itself is already getting warmer — it recently reached record-high temperatures, accelerating the process.
Without AMOC, we could see extreme weather events like hurricanes, rising sea levels, disrupted marine ecosystems, and other potentially catastrophic effects.
Foukal believes there's still time to save the AMOC — or at least do everything to delay its collapse.
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Absolutely 👍 "It's almost unanimous at this point that the Atlantic overturning will slow in the future, but whether or not it will collapse is still up for debate," Foukal said in the post by the researchers. "This work indicates that there is still time to act before we reach this potential tipping point."
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