The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), the strongest ocean current on Earth, is set to slow down by 20% by 2050 due to global warming. This phenomenon has significant implications for life on Earth.
According to a new research study, the ACC plays a crucial role in regulating Earth’s climate and pumping water, heat, and nutrients around the globe. The current helps to keep warm water at bay, protecting vulnerable ice sheets, and acts as a barrier to invasive species.
However, the warming of surrounding ice is not having the expected effect on the current’s strength. Instead, it appears that melting ice is actually diluting the salty ocean water, potentially disrupting the vital ocean current.
Researchers used advanced ocean modelling to study the ACC and its potential future changes. Their findings suggest that cold, fresh meltwater from Antarctica will migrate north, filling the deep ocean and causing major changes to the density structure of the ocean.
This could lead to a slowdown in the current by as much as 20% by 2050, with far-reaching consequences for life on Earth. A weaker ACC could reduce biodiversity, decrease fisheries productivity, and exacerbate global sea-level rise.
The study highlights the need for concerted efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit melting around Antarctica. By monitoring these changes accurately through long-term studies in the Southern Ocean, we may be able to address and potentially avert the effects of climate change on our oceans.
Source: https://theconversation.com/melting-antarctic-ice-will-slow-the-worlds-strongest-ocean-current-and-the-global-consequences-are-profound-251053