"We are provoking the beast" - Weak currents in the Atlantic Ocean will change the world climate
The water in the Atlantic Ocean is constantly circulating in a complex pattern that affects the weather conditions on several continents. Scientists are wondering: "Is this huge system, which includes the Gulf Stream, slowing down due to climate change?"
If major systemic changes occur, the consequences could be dire, with potentially faster sea levels rising on the east coast of the United States and Europe, stronger hurricanes moving to the southeastern United States, reduced rainfall in parts of Africa, and changes in tropical monsoon systems.
Wounds were found warning signs that this critical ocean system is in danger in a new analysis in a scientific journal Nature Climate Change.
"This gradual slowdown of the circulatory system is associated with a loss of stability." says Niklas Burs, a researcher, "And is approaching a turning point at which it will abruptly move to a much slower state."
"We are provoking the beast. "And we really do not know what the reaction will be." says Alex Hall, director of the Center for Climate Science at the University of California.
Source: The New York Times