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A system of currents in the Atlantic Ocean that shapes regional climates and distributes ocean nutrients also acts as a control mechanism that helps regulate temperatures across the planet, according to new research.
Archive image, for illustrative purposes only. Source: PXHERE.comAn analysis of past natural fluctuations in the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) shows that, during periods when the AMOC was strong, the ocean and the planet as a whole lost heat. When the AMOC was weak, the ocean and the planet as a whole gained additional heat.
What is the AMOC?
The AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation) is a vast system of ocean currents that operates like a giant conveyor belt.
“The AMOC acts like a heat valve that controls the planet’s energy balance,” said Christo Buizert, a palaeoclimatologist at Oregon State University and lead author of the study, which has just been published in Nature Geoscience.
The role of the AMOC and its variations
Researchers have long known that the AMOC plays an important role in circulating heat through global ocean currents. While the AMOC has remained strong for the past 11,700 years, since the end of the last Ice Age, many climate models project a future weakening of the AMOC due to human-caused climate change.
According to Buizert, an associate professor in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University (OSU), this weakening of the AMOC would exacerbate global warming. The most direct impact of this weakening is cooling across the North Atlantic and surrounding regions, including
Original Record.
This archived record authored by ‘Helena Mottram’ at ‘METEORED (Your Weather)’ was recovered from data set:
English