The potential collapse of Amoc has been debated for twenty years. This marine mega-current, which transports warm waters from the South Atlantic Ocean to the high latitudes of the North Atlantic Ocean, has a great influence on the weather reportweather reportand particularly in Europe. In May 2024, a new study from the University of Miami estimated that it had confirmation that the current had weakened over the last 20 years, with already visible consequences. The weakening of this current (of which the Gulf Stream constitutes one of the segments), or worse its collapsecollapsecould lead to marked climatic cooling of the Arctic and northern Europe.
The Amoc Current transports warm waters from the southern regions to the northern regions and this helps to soften the climate of the northern hemisphere. © NASA
“There is still time”, according to researchers
But now a new study published in Nature Communications explains that Amoc has ultimately not declined at all over the last 60 years! Unlike previous studies, the one published in recent days estimates that variations in water surface temperature are not a good indicator of the health of the Amoc. The researchers preferred to take into account the exchanges of flow of heatheat above the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. And according to their results, Amoc would be much more stable than we thought and it would even be far from collapse. The authors of the study specify that, if it persists, the global warmingglobal warming will have many consequences on Amoc. But for now, there is time left ”, in their own words.
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