‘aioaiz021 Major Alanic ocean currant system might be approaching crical threshold - ScienceDaily ScienceDaily Your source for the latest research news Si nce News, from research organizations Major Atlantic ocean current system might be approaching critical threshold Date: August 5, 2021 Source: Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) Summary: A major Atlantic ocean current -- the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC — may have been losing stability in the course of the last century, according to new research. A potential collapse of this ocean current system could have severe consequences. Shae: f WPin| FULL STORY Ocean waves (stock image). Credit: © Noradoa / stock.adobe.com The major Atlantic ocean current, to which also the Gulf stream belongs, may have been losing stability in the course of the last century. This is shown in a new study published in Nature Climate Change. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, Iitpsslwwn sciencedally.comreleases!2021/08/210805115420.him 4‘wos02t Major Ate ccsan curent system mah be approaching etal treshols~SenesDay or AMOG, transports warm water masses from the tropics northward at the ocean surface and cold water southward at the ocean bottom, which is most relevant for the relatively mild temperatures in Europe. Further, it influences weather systems worldwide. A potential collapse of this ocean current system could therefore have severe consequences “The Atlantic Meridional Overturning really is one of our planet's key circulation systems,” says the author of the study, Niklas Boers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Freie Universitat Berlin and Exeter University. "We already know from some computer simulations and from data from Earth's past, so- called paleoclimate proxy records, that the AMOC can exhibit - in addition to the currently attained strong mode ~ an alternative, substantially weaker mode of operation. This bi-stability implies that abrupt transitions between the two circulation modes are in principle possible.” Loss of dynamical stability could ultimately lead to collapse Ithas been shown previously that the AMOC is currently at its weakest in more than a 1000 years. However, 0 far it has remained an open question whether the observed weakening corresponds to a change in the mean circulation state, or whether itis associated with an actual loss of dynamical stability. "The difference is crucial,” says Niklas Boers, "because the loss of dynamical stability would imply that the AMOC has approached its critical threshold, beyond which a substantial and in practice likely irreversible transition to the weak mode could occur.” Long-term observational data of the strength of the AMOC does unfortunately not exist, but the AMOC leaves so-called fingerprints in sea-surface temperature and salinity patterns of the Atlantic ocean. "A detailed analysis of these fingerprints in eight independent indices now suggests that the AMOC weakening during the last century is indeed likely to be associated with a loss of stability,” says Boers. "The findings support the assessment that the AMOC decline is not just a fluctuation or a linear response to increasing temperatures but likely means the approaching of a critical threshold beyond which the circulation system could collapse.” In addition to global warming, freshwater inflow is a factor ~- which is also linked to climate change ‘A number of factors are likely important for the phenomenon ~ factors that add to the direct effect that the warming of the Atlantic ocean has on its circulation. These include freshwater inflow from the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, melting sea-ice, increasing precipitation and river run-off. Freshwater is lighter than. saltwater and reduces the tendency of the water to sink from the surface to greater depths, which is one of the drivers of the overturning, “I wouldn't have expected that the excessive amounts of freshwater added in the course of the last century would already produce such a response in the overtuming circulation," says Boers. "We urgently need to reconcile our models with the presented observational evidence to assess how far from or how close to its critical threshold the AMOC really is." While the respective relevance of the different factors has to be further investigated, they're all linked to human-caused climate change. Story Source: Materials provided by Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Journal Reference: 1, Niklas Boers. Observation-based early-warning signals for a collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Nature Climate Change, 2021 DOI: 10.1038/s41658-021-01097-4 hitps:slwwn.sciencedally.comireleases/2021/08/210805115420,him 28‘aioaiz021 [Major Alanic ocean currant system might be approaching crical threshold ~- ScienceDaily Cite This Page: MLA APA Chicago Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). "Major Atlantic ocean current system might be approaching critical threshold,” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 5 August 2021, . RELATED STORIES Gulf Stream System at Its Weakest in Over a Millennium Feb. 25, 2021 — Never before in over 1000 years the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), also known as Gulf Stream System, has been as weak as in the last decades. Researchers compiled proxy data, Atlantic Ocean May Get a Jump-Start from the Other Side of the World Sep. 16, 2019 —A key question for climate scientists in recent years has been whether the Atlantic Ocean's main circulation system is slowing down, a development that could have dramatic consequences for Europe and Loss of Arctic Sea Ice Impacting Atlantic Ocean Water Circulation System July 31, 2017 — Arctic sea ice is not merely a passive responder to the climate changes occurring around the world, according to new research. Scientists say the ongoing Arctic ice loss can play an active role in Potential Instability in Atlantic Ocean Water Circulation System Jan. 4, 2017 — One of the world's largest ocean circulation systems may not be as stable as today's weather models predict, according to a new study. In fact, changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overtuming ... 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