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2025-05-19 03:32:16
The decline of key Atlantic currents is underway, and it's been flooding parts of the US for 20 years
submitted by https://slrpnk.net/u/wolfyvegan
The risk of flooding events along the U.S. Northeast coast has doubled since 2005. Now, scientists have discovered that up to 50% of these events occurred because key Atlantic ocean currents are slowing down.
In a new study, researchers found that a considerable portion of the increase in flood risk was linked to the deceleration of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) — a giant network of ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean that includes the Gulf Stream and brings heat to the Northern Hemisphere.
The AMOC relies on surface waters that have traveled north from the Southern Hemisphere sinking in the North Atlantic. Once they reach the seabed, these waters can ride back south on bottom currents. But climate change is blocking the sinking step by releasing meltwater from the Arctic and Greenland Ice Sheet into the North Atlantic. This dilutes the salt concentration and reduces the density of surface waters, keeping them at the top of the water column.
archived (Wayback Machine):
https://web.archive.org/web/20250519031857/https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/climate-change/the-decline-of-key-atlantic-currents-is-underway-and-its-been-flooding-parts-of-the-us-for-20-years
https://web.archive.org/web/20250519032837/https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.ads4419
https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/climate-change/the-decline-of-key-atlantic-currents-is-underway-and-its-been-flooding-parts-of-the-us-for-20-years
https://lemmy.world/post/29880020