<
https://theconversation.com/meltwater-from-greenland-and-the-arctic-is-weakening-ocean-circulation-speeding-up-warming-down-south-238302>
"A vast network of ocean currents nicknamed the “great global ocean conveyor
belt” is slowing down. That’s a problem because this vital system redistributes
heat around the world, influencing both temperatures and rainfall.
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation funnels heat northwards through
the Atlantic Ocean and is crucial for controlling climate and marine
ecosystems. It’s weaker now than at any other time in the past 1,000 years, and
global warming could be to blame. But climate models have struggled to
replicate the changes observed to date – until now.
Our modelling suggests the recent weakening of the oceanic circulation can
potentially be explained if meltwater from the Greenland ice sheet and Canadian
glaciers is taken into account.
Our results show the Atlantic overturning circulation is likely to become a
third weaker than it was 70 years ago at 2°C of global warming. This would
bring big changes to the climate and ecosystems, including faster warming in
the southern hemisphere, harsher winters in Europe, and weakening of the
northern hemisphere’s tropical monsoons. Our simulations also show such changes
are likely to occur much sooner than others had suspected."
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
