24 October 2024
Yesterday I noticed a video of a scientist choking up on the prospect of Atlantic Ocean circulation failing. Why is he unhappy?
Yesterday 44 of the world’s main local weather scientists wrote an open letter about collapse of the Atlantic Ocean’s circulation (AMOC)
After I interviewed one in all them concerning the penalties of AMOC reaching a tipping level he might barely preserve it collectively. ? pic.twitter.com/Xsu0po5iZs
— Philip Boucher-Hayes (@boucherhayes) October 22, 2024
(For those who don’t see the video above, click on on this hyperlink.)
The speaker is one in all 44 local weather scientists who launched an open letter this week warning that by 2050 a tipping level will doubtless trigger the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) to fail, making northeastern Europe a lot colder and ushering in a bunch of different antagonistic results. He’s from Britain and 2050 is simply 26 years away.
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is the principle ocean present system within the Atlantic Ocean and a serious element of Earth’s ocean circulation. It transports warmth and salinity northward and returns chilly water to the south. —- paraphrased from Wikipedia
Local weather scientists have been finding out AMOC for many years as a result of they understand that as Greenland melts, it dumps freshwater into the North Atlantic. The freshwater inflow slows the northern finish of the AMOC and that messes up the entire system.
We (People) haven’t paid a lot consideration to this as a result of we predict it is going to solely have an effect on Europe however “messing up the entire system” will change the planet utterly. Opposed results embody:
- Northeastern Europe will get a lot colder
- A brand new Ice Age will start so your complete Northern Hemisphere, ourselves included, will get colder. See Warming As much as the Subsequent Ice Age.
- The Gulf Stream gained’t transport water away from North America (the far finish is chopped off) so, inside a matter of years, sea degree will rise one-to-three toes on the East Coast.
- The tropical rain belt will transfer south, disrupting moist and dry seasons within the Amazon and Africa.
This 13-minute video from PBS describes what AMOC is, the way it impacts us, and what’s going to go improper when it fails.
For a comparatively fast synopsis, see The Guardian: ‘We don’t know the place the tipping level is’: local weather professional on potential collapse of Atlantic circulation.
