Several articles appeared this week talking about the weakening of the Gulf Stream, a river of warm water that flows from the Gulf of Mexico northward. Climate change is affectin g the flow, and if the flow stops then it will have unpredictable but likely catastrophic effects on the Earth’s weather, oceans and marine life.
Atlantic Ocean circulation at weakest in a millennium, say scientists
Scientists predict that the AMOC will weaken further if global heating continues, and could reduce by about 34% to 45% by the end of this century, which could bring us close to a “tipping point” at which the system could become irrevocably unstable. A weakened Gulf Stream would also raise sea levels on the Atlantic coast of the US, with potentially disastrous consequences.
The “end of the century” part is interesting, but there is reason to believe that it could happen much quicker. Another article:
A Major Ocean Current May Be Hurtling Towards Collapse
“The AMOC is at risk of collapsing when a certain level of freshwater flow into the North Atlantic from increasing ice melt in Greenland is reached,” Johannes Lohmann, one of the authors of the study, said in an email. “These tipping points have been shown previously in climate models, where meltwater is very slowly introduced into the ocean. In reality, increases in meltwater from Greenland are accelerating and cannot be considered slow.”
There is no way to stop the collapse of the Gulf Stream without ending the burning of fossil fuels, along with the removal of excess CO2 from the atmosphere.
“The Doomsday Book” by Marshall Brain lays out this scenario in amazing detail and offers solutions to prevent this doomsday scenario from unfolding. You can order the book today on Amazon and other retailers.