Is the Atlantic Overturning Circulation Approaching a Tipping Point? | Oceanography
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The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation has a major impact on climate, not just in the northern Atlantic but globally. Paleoclimatic data show it has been unstable in the past, leading to some of the most dramatic and abrupt climate shifts known. These instabilities are due to two different types of tipping points, one linked to amplifying feedbacks in the large-scale salt transport and the other in the convective mixing that drives the flow. These tipping points present a major risk of abrupt ocean circulation and climate shifts as we push our planet further out of the stable Holocene climate into uncharted waters.

  • sinkingship@mander.xyzEnglish
    10·
    6 months ago

    I haven’t read the article. Dumb question anyway. Yes, AMOC is approaching a tipping point, that science has been public since years. Yes, AMOC has already slowed down some dozen or more per cent.

    And while we here answering the same questions as always: yes the climate is changing, yes climate change is also occuring naturally, however this one is human made and yes, the outlook isn’t good at all. No, we shouldn’t continue burning fossil fuels to feed our energy hunger and yes, we need to do something now or better yeaterday. And no, asking repetitive questions isn’t action enough.

    Edit: excuse me. I got a little emotional. Education about climate change is good. I’m just a little tired of reading the same stuff since decades I guess, while at the same time we continue to burn more and more fossil fuels.

    Another update: Interesting Youtube video about this topic.

    • eleitl@lemmy.mlOPMEnglish
      6·
      7 months ago

      I have some good and some bad news. First the good one: we about on the cusp of fossil and hence all mineral resource extractability, having finally hit our limits of growth. The first bottleneck of the energy bottleneck appears to be the heavy hydrocarbon fraction, from which our diesel and ship bunker fuel originates. This constrains agriculture, mining and all shipping.

      Now for the bad news: which is the same as the good news. This means lots of excess deaths this century, probably in the billions. The renewables we will be still able to deploy will not be able to cushion our fall. Without a renewable base that can power and maintain its own life cycle and also whatever surplus it provides for the rest of our activities the carrying capacity of this planet is less than a billion. Potentially, a lot less.