Are we headed for another ice age? The ocean current system may collapse in as little as two years

According to a new study, the ocean current system could collapse as early as 2025. Stopping it would have catastrophic consequences, as the system is crucial for the transfer of heat on our planet. In the current mode, the circulation of sea currents has been operating for 12 thousand years - that is, since the last ice age.

In a study published in the professional journal Nature Communications, scientists from the Niels Bohr Institute and the Department of Mathematical Sciences of the University of Copenhagen warn of the threat of the collapse of the so-called Atlantic Meridional Circulation (AMOC for short). According to the study, this should happen between 2025-2095. Atlantic Meridional Circulation The AMOC carries warm ocean water from the tropics north to the pole where it cools and sinks, driving the Atlantic currents heading back south.

The problem is too much fresh water from the melting Greenland ice cap, which stops the whole process because it reduces the density and thus the ability to sink to the bottom. As a result of global warming, it is the weakest in the last 1600 years.

The researchers used sea level data dating back to 1870 for the analysis. The analysis is based on the assumption that greenhouse gas emissions will continue to rise as they have been.

The IPCC disagrees with the study
However, the latest assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) contradicts the study. The report states that a sudden change in ocean circulation in such a short period of time is unlikely. So that the AMOC will not collapse in this century.

Professor David Thornalley of University College London in the UK agreed that the study had large unknowns, but said more research was necessary.

"If the statistics are robust and describe in a relevant way how the real AMOC behaves, then this is a very worrying result," he told The Guardian.

Here one of the comments on web:

The AMOC system repeatedly collapsed and restarted during the ice age cycle that took place between 115,000 and 12,000 years ago. In total, according to scientists, 25 times - based on studies of the core of the Greenland ice sheet. So how much influence does a person have on this?? I think we're pretty into each other. It works even without us.
 

For those who would like to read the scientific details about this research you can read

Detailed article on Nature.com

So you can make your own choice - ICE AGE  or GLOBAL WARMING ??

          Thanks for reading

                                               Margaret

Source: Novinky.cz