Atlantic meridional overturning circulation
Atlantic meridional overturning circulation
!Topographic map of the Nordic Seas and subpolar basins with surface currents (solid curves) and deep currents (dashed curves) that form a portion of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. Colors of curves indicate approximate temperatures.
Atlantic meridional overturning circulation
The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is the main ocean current system in the Atlantic Ocean. It is a component of Earth's ocean circulation system and plays an important role in the climate system. The AMOC includes Atlantic currents at the surface and at great depths that are driven by changes in weather, temperature and salinity. Those currents comprise half of the global thermohaline circulation that includes the flow of major ocean currents, the other half being the Southern Ocean overturning circulation.
Atlantic meridional overturning circulation
Climate change may weaken the AMOC through increases in ocean heat content and elevated flows of freshwater from melting ice sheets. Studies using oceanographic reconstructions suggest that as of 2015, the AMOC was weaker than before the Industrial Revolution. There is debate over the relative contributions of different factors and it is unclear how much of this weakening is due to climate change or the circulation's natural variability over millennia. Climate models predict the AMOC will further weaken during the 21st century. This weakening would reduce average air temperatures over Scandinavia, Great Britain, and Ireland, because these regions are warmed by the North Atlantic Current. Weakening of the AMOC would also accelerate sea level rise around North America and reduce primary production in the North Atlantic.
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