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https://theconversation.com/a-huge-atlantic-ocean-current-is-slowing-down-if-it-collapses-la-nina-could-become-the-norm-for-australia-184254>
"Climate change is slowing down the conveyor belt of ocean currents that brings
warm water from the tropics up to the North Atlantic. Our research, published
today in Nature Climate Change, looks at the profound consequences to global
climate if this Atlantic conveyor collapses entirely.
We found the collapse of this system – called the Atlantic meridional
overturning circulation – would shift the Earth’s climate to a more La
Niña-like state. This would mean more flooding rains over eastern Australia and
worse droughts and bushfire seasons over southwest United States.
East-coast Australians know what unrelenting La Niña feels like. Climate change
has loaded our atmosphere with moister air, while two summers of La Niña warmed
the ocean north of Australia. Both contributed to some of the wettest
conditions ever experienced, with record-breaking floods in New South Wales and
Queensland.
Meanwhile, over the southwest of North America, a record drought and severe
bushfires have put a huge strain on emergency services and agriculture, with
the 2021 fires alone estimated to have cost at least US$70 billion.
Earth’s climate is dynamic, variable, and ever-changing. But our current
trajectory of unabated greenhouse gas emissions is giving the whole system a
giant kick that’ll have uncertain consequences – consequences that’ll rewrite
our textbook description of the planet’s ocean circulation and its impact."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
