A new study has worrying conclusions about changes in a vital aspect of the global climate system.
Why it’s important: The apparent weakening of South Atlantic Vault (AMOC) traffic, largely due to ice melting, is a reminder that climate change could lead to unpleasant surprises in the future.
Driving the news: In a study published in Geoscience of nature On Thursday, researchers reported that the AMOC, an ocean current system that includes the Florida Current and the Gulf Stream, is in its “weakest state in more than a millennium.”
- AMOC is the thermohaline circulation of the oceans and plays an important role in global climate management, including maintaining temperatures in Europe warmer than they would be because of their latitude.
The big picture: The AMOC has been called the “Achilles heel” of the climate, causing drastic changes as it has been turned on and off during Earth’s history.
- He had a moment of public fame in the 2004 film about the climate disaster “The Day After Tomorrow”, where he went out and caused storms and intense weather that destroyed the world’s major cities.
Yes, but: Nothing remote is expected near this drastic, even if the current would 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 the proxy data in the study.
The summary: The most important reason to worry about (and act on) climate change is not the most likely but surviving bad results, but the least likely ones that could actually exist.