Climate models have long warned that global warming could weaken deep-water formation—the density-driven sinkid that is the engine of the #AMOC.
The logic is straightforward: As #Greenland’s ice sheets melt and sea ice formation declines, North #Atlantic waters will freshen. Combined with warmer sea temperatures, the freshening makes surface waters more buoyant.
The AMOC was thought to have shut down abruptly during past #climate warmings, and a handful of researchers now argue such a tipping point could occur this century.
A sputtering AMOC could trigger a sharp cooldown in northwestern #Europe, rising seas along the U.S. east coast, and shifts in tropical rainfall.
