Evident signs of the collapse of the Gulf Stream: another alarm comes from science. It could be the point of no return
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himEvident signs of the collapse of the Gulf Stream: another alarm comes from science. It could be the point of no return
Clear signs of the collapse of the Gulf Stream: another, yet another, alarm comes from science, this time from the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research (Germany), which points the finger at climate change. And that could really be the point of no return.
The Gulf Stream (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, AMOC) is a system of ocean currents that carry warm surface water to the North Atlantic, an important mechanism for heat redistribution and crucial to the world's climate.
It is so powerful that, even at very high latitudes, the areas exposed to it show significantly higher temperatures than the corresponding internal ones (just check the difference, even in winter, between those of cities on the western Arctic coast of Norway with those of cities at equal latitudes. in Finland).
Abrupt slowdowns of this complex system can trigger extreme weather events around the globe, including a sudden rise in sea level locally as well as changes in the location of major rainfall and arid climatic zones.
Previous studies they had already suggested a gradual weakening in recent decades, but estimates of the critical transition point remained uncertain.
In the research just published, an early warning indicator was developed that can detect early warning signs and unfortunately significant indications have already been taken on eight independent AMOC indices, based on sea surface temperature and salinity data from the entire Atlantic Ocean basin up to 150 years ago.
These results reveal spatially coherent empirical evidence showing that, over the past century, the AMOC may have evolved from relatively stable conditions to a point close to a critical transition
writes Niklas Boers, author of the work.
In reality, it is not a phenomenon that began recently: in fact, research has found an almost complete loss of stability in the last century and in general it is known that the slowdown has been underway for at least 1600 years. However, the new analysis shows that the current could be close to full stop. A climate catastrophe, not even "just" a crisis anymore.
The already visible signs of destabilization are something that I would not have expected and that I find frightening - Boers explains to The Guardian - It is something we cannot [allow] to happen.
What to do?
©designua/123rf
The only thing to do is to keep emissions as low as possible - thunders the researcher - The likelihood of this very high impact event happening increases with each gram of CO2 that we put into the atmosphere.
Because, in fact, we don't really know what CO2 level could trigger a collapse of the AMOC.
These signs of waning stability are worrying - echoes David Thornalley, who had conducted a previous analysis in February of this year - But we still don't know if a collapse will occur or how close we might be.
Read also: The Gulf Stream is slowing down like never before: let's get ready for colder winters
We live in the uncertainty of tomorrow - it is true - but we can live in the awareness that today's actions can have repercussions on the future.
The work was published in Nature Climate Change.
Sources of reference: The Guardian / Nature Climate Change
Read also:
- What would happen to the climate if the Gulf Stream stopped due to global warming?
- The oil spill also upsets the balance of the Gulf of Mexico current
