When you buy through data link on our site , we may earn an affiliate deputation . Here ’s how it works .
globular warming caused critical Atlantic Ocean current to collapse just before the last ice age , a Modern survey suggest .
The weakening currents triggered a cascade of effects , lead in a striking cooling of the Nordic Seas — the Greenland , Iceland and Norwegian seas — while the beleaguer oceans grow warmer . And scientists say we could be steer toward the same matter again , as the world warms withclimate changeandtemperatures raceway closerto the levels that existed before the last ice long time .
Melting ice in the Arctic can significantly disrupt ocean currents in the Atlantic.
" Our study is indeed alarming regarding what we might be channelise to , " study spark advance authorMohamed Ezat , an associate prof and paleoceanographer at The Arctic University of Norway , told Live Science in an email .
The Last Interglacial period ( 130,000 to 115,000 years ago ) , which occurred between the previous two ice age , was a relatively tender phase of Earth ’s history characterized by higher temperature , mellow ocean levelsand smaller ice sheets than we see today . clime scientists say theLast Interglacial ply an analoguefor the near future if countries run out to thresh about glasshouse gas emissions , with temperatures reaching 1.8 to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit ( 1 to 2 degrees Celsius ) above preindustrial level .
" The metre period we look into , the Last Interglacial , is an interesting and very seasonable period to learn , " Ezat say . " We found that about 128,000 years ago , enhanced melting of Arctic sea frappe had a pregnant effect on the overturning circulation in the Nordic Seas . "
The AMOC functions like a giant conveyor belt.
Related:‘We do n’t really debate it low chance anymore ' : flop of key Atlantic stream could have catastrophic impacts , says oceanographer Stefan Rahmstorf
Nordic Sea currents act a decisive part in a wider organisation of Atlantic Ocean currents called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation ( AMOC ) , which include the Gulf Stream . The AMOC is substantive for warming the northerly Hemisphere and function like a giant conveyer belt belt , with ardent waters from the Southern Hemisphere riding northward on the ocean surface and then cooling and plunging to the bottom in the North Atlantic to travel back to the south .
Melting ice in the Arctic can importantly impact the AMOC , because sassy water pouring into the North Atlantic dilutes Earth’s surface water , preventing them from slump to the bottom to make deep electric current . enquiry showsthe AMOC is already slow down downas a outcome of global heating , and scientists say the organization couldgrind to a halt in the coming decades .
Earlier this calendar month , 44 leading clime scientistsrang the warning machine Melville Bell on the AMOC in an open letteraddressed to the Nordic Council of Ministers , an intergovernmental forum that promote cooperation between the Nordic countries . The letter outlined the risk unite to an AMOC collapse , including major cooling in the Northern Hemisphere andcatastrophic shifts in tropical monsoon form .
Climate simulation intimate the AMOC could crock up before 2100 , but there are huge precariousness in predicting the timescales . " Looking at the distant past of the Earth ’s mood history in particular when it was warmer than today can boil down such uncertainty , " Ezat said .
For the new subject field , Ezat and his fellow study new and existing data from deposit cores from the Norwegian Sea . They compare these datum to interchangeable information from North Atlantic sediments to remodel the sea sparkler dispersion , sea surface temperature , brininess , deep ocean convection and root of meltwater during the Last Interglacial .
The results , published Oct. 27 in the journalNature Communications , suggest Arctic meltwater halt the formation of deep - sea currents in the Norwegian Sea during the Last Interglacial . This considerably slowed the southbound flowing of the AMOC , in go slow up the engine that brings heat to the Northern Hemisphere .
— The Gulf Stream stopped pumping food during the last Methedrine eld — and the same could be happening now
— Gulf Stream ’s circumstances to be decided by climate ' tower - of - war '
— ' We are approach the tipping full stop ' : Marker for the collapse of central Atlantic stream discovered
" In legal brief , we found cool down in the Nordic Seas that we were capable to link to a warm global mood and enhanced thaw of sea methamphetamine , " Ezat said .
The field highlights what could come about to the AMOC in the cheeseparing time to come , Ezat pronounce . Satellite observations show a drastic decline in Arctic sea ice over the past four decennary , and scientist say ice - free summerswill in all probability take hold by 2050 . These will have major consequences for the AMOC .
" It sends out another admonisher that our planet ’s climate is a delicate balance , and that mood activeness is an emergency , " Ezat sound out . " We experience that severe weakening of the AMOC is n’t unlikely , and if it happens it will have serious implications [ for ] the high-pitched latitude regions and beyond . "
