A new study from researchers in Norway, Sweden, Germany, and the U.K. cautions that changes from our overheating planet on a major ocean current could unleash a chain of events that would alter the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation.
What's happening?
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a powerful ocean current system in the Atlantic that helps to balance our planet's climate, especially in the Northern Hemisphere.
Scientists say changes due to our warming world are being detected in another major ocean current located in the Arctic, the Beaufort Gyre, which could cause a series of events that would allow an influx of freshwater into the North Atlantic.
"The results of this study make us concerned that the reduction of sea ice in the area could lead to a tipping point where the AMOC collapses," said Céline Heuzé, a senior Lecturer in Climatology at the University of Gothenburg and one of the authors of the study, per SciTechDaily.
"We find that most models predict that the gyre will shrink in a future warmer climate, in response to changes in the atmosphere," concluded the international team of scientists behind the study, which was published in the JGR Oceans journal and shared by Wiley.
"This gyre decline is predicted both under a high-emission scenario and under an intermediate 'middle of the road' emission scenario. The BG region would no longer accumulate freshwater. This could impact future oceanic properties in the Arctic and in the North Atlantic."
Why are changes to the Arctic's Beaufort Gyre important?
If melting sea ice crosses a critical tipping point, resulting in the Gyre allowing a large volume of freshwater to flow into the North Atlantic, the AMOC would be at risk of weakening and perhaps collapsing.
"Such a collapse would be what scientists call a 'climate tipping point' — an event that would lead to sudden, wide-reaching impacts that are difficult if not impossible to reverse," according to MIT professor of oceanography Raffaele Ferrari.
"Changing currents would cause sea levels to rise swiftly in areas like the U.S. East Coast, storms would grow more severe, the rainy and dry seasons in the Amazon may flip, and the ice age pattern of a cooling north and warming south would play out once again."
What's being done to prevent a collapse of the AMOC?
The good news is that a study published in February found that the circulation hasn't declined in the last six decades and that it might be more resilient than once thought. However, most research suggests that if heat-trapping pollution remains high, the slow AMOC process will slow even further in the future, and it is not a matter of if it will collapse, but when.
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Sounds great 👍 A significant reduction in the amount of heat-trapping gases being released into Earth's atmosphere could help prevent the collapse of the AMOC. It will take a massive transition from dirty energy sources to renewable options.
Making changes to our homes is one way we can all help. Replacing old HVAC systems with a heat pump, installing solar panels, and opting for an induction stove instead of a conventional range are ways to reduce energy bills and reduce harmful carbon pollution.
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