ORIGIN: https://www.yourweather.co.uk/news/
A long-held theory hypothesises that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is weakening, but is there any substance to this? New research from SAMS takes a closer look.
A graphic showing the Scotland-Canada Overturning Array (SCOTIA) of observations. Credit: SAMS.Oceanographers think the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), the large-scale north Atlantic currents that govern our climate, could be weakening because of climate change.
A new study including marine scientists from the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) has combined data from several sources to find out exactly what’s happening.
A complex conveyor belt regulating the climate
The AMOC is a complex system of ocean currents that acts a bit like a conveyor belt, moving warm, salty water from the tropics to the North Atlantic and returning cold, deep water southward. It plays a key role in regulating global climate and distributing heat.
But oceanographers suspect its being disrupted by climate change, a view partly supported by RAPID, a sub-tropical array of moorings in the North Atlantic which has been in place since 2004.
A weakening, or complete collapse, of this system
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