New Research Sparks Concerns That Ocean Circulation Will Collapse

Photo caption: Sea ice in Crystal Sound, Antarctica. Photo credit: Tapia via AP. Article by Fred Pearce. Yale Environment 360 – April 18, 2023.

Scientists have long feared that warming could cause a breakdown of ocean circulation in the North Atlantic. But new research finds the real risk lies in Antarctica’s waters, where melting could disrupt currents in the next few decades, with profound impacts on global climate.

It is being hailed as a sea change in scientific understanding of the global ocean circulation system and how it will respond as the world heats up. A doomsday scenario involving the collapse of the circulation — previously portrayed in […]

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