Atlantic Ocean currents that carry heat to the Northern Hemisphere could be grinding to a halt due to climate change. And if the vital currents do slump, tropical monsoon systems would be thrown into chaos for at least a century, a new study suggests.
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a huge conveyor belt of ocean currents, including the Gulf Stream, that pumps heat and salt from the South Atlantic to the North Atlantic. "I like to think of it as a sort of ventilator," study lead author Maya Ben-Yami, a climate researcher specializing in climatic tipping points at the Technical University of Munich in Germany, told Live Science. "Part of the reason that we're worried about the collapse of the AMOC is because it has such a huge impact on the sort of heat transport within the Earth system."
