CLIMATE
Vital ocean current at risk of collapse
July 16, 2024 - A new study suggests that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) – the main ocean current system in the Atlantic Ocean – could tip towards collapse around 2050.
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AMOC delivers heat to the gulf stream, carrying warm, nutrient-rich saline water north towards the pole where it cools and sinks, but the accelerated melting of Greenland’s ice cap aswell as glacial run-off is increasingly smothering the current.
The collapse of the AMOC is one of five key climate tipping points, including the collapse of ice sheets in Greenland and the West Antarctic, the widespread thawing of permafrost, the death of coral reefs in warm waters. It would likely disrupt monsoons in India, and lead to drought in South America and west Africa, while temperatures in northern Europe would experience a sudden, severe drop and storms would increase. Sea levels on the North American east coast would rapidly rise by about two feet, and part of the Amazon rainforest would dry out. The transport of essential nutrients to the North Atlantic would grind to a halt, threatening marine life.