A new study has worrying conclusions about changes in a vital aspect of the global climate system.
Why does it matter: The apparent weakening of the South Atlantic’s twisted circulation (AMOC) – largely due to melting ice – is a reminder that climate change could cause nasty surprises in the future.
News management: In a study published in Geosciences of nature On Thursday, researchers reported that AMOC – an ocean current system that includes the Florida Current and the Gulf Stream – is in “its worst state in over a millennium.”
- AMOC is the thermohaline circulation of the oceans and plays an important role in managing the global climate, including keeping temperatures in Europe warmer than it would otherwise be for its latitude.
The whole picture: AMOC has been called the “Achilles’ heel” of the climate, causing drastic changes as it travels through and through Earth’s history.
- He gained a moment of public fame in the 2004 film about the climate catastrophe “The After After Tomorrow”, where he stopped and caused intense storms and weather to destroy major cities around the world.
Yes but: Nothing is expected from a distance around this drastic, even if the current should weaken much more, and researchers still do not have a direct understanding of the health of AMOC, which is why they were forced to use proxy data in the study .
Bottom line: The biggest reason to worry about climate change – and act on it – is not the most likely, but surviving, negative outcome, but the least likely, which could really be existential.