In the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Greenland and Iceland, a swath of water is doing something very strange. While the rest of the ocean heats up; it’s been getting colder. A team of scientists say they have the answer to this mystery
Yeah, I agree that there’s definitely more research to be done and I didn’t mean to contradict what the linked research suggests - a collapse of AMOC would result in catastrophic climate change for NW Europe.
While on the one hand it makes the situation even more dangerous, as we’re essentially flying blind, on the other it also means we only have a relatively small dataset on what constitutes “normal” AMOC variations.
That’s all true, indeed. However there’s also some ancient data sources, like ice cores, from which the AMOC can be partially reconstructed much deeper in the past. That information does offer a glimpse on what the world looked like when there wasn’t an AMOC.
You’re right that the full picture is still patchy and there’s much yet to learn.
That’s not entirely true. Yes a lot more research needs to be done. But intensive research is already ongoing and some vital information is known.
For example, the scenarios I linked are based on this research.
Yeah, I agree that there’s definitely more research to be done and I didn’t mean to contradict what the linked research suggests - a collapse of AMOC would result in catastrophic climate change for NW Europe.
All I meant to point out is that inferred AMOC data only stretches back around 45 years, with direct measurements of AMOC only going back around 35 years. Compared to meteorological records which, in some cases, stretch all the way back to the 1850s, around 40 years of data on such a specific phenomenon is not much to make hard conclusions from.
While on the one hand it makes the situation even more dangerous, as we’re essentially flying blind, on the other it also means we only have a relatively small dataset on what constitutes “normal” AMOC variations.
That’s all true, indeed. However there’s also some ancient data sources, like ice cores, from which the AMOC can be partially reconstructed much deeper in the past. That information does offer a glimpse on what the world looked like when there wasn’t an AMOC.
You’re right that the full picture is still patchy and there’s much yet to learn.