Ocean Current That Keeps Europe Warm Is Weakening Because of Climate Change (washingtonpost.com)

The Washington Post: The Atlantic Ocean circulation that carries warmth into the Northern Hemisphere's high latitudes is slowing down because of climate change, a team of scientists asserted Wednesday, suggesting one of the most feared consequences is already coming to pass (Editor's note: the link may be paywalled; alternative source). The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation has declined in strength by 15 percent since the mid-20th century to a "new record low," the scientists conclude in a peer-reviewed study published in the journal Nature. That's a decrease of 3 million cubic meters of water per second, the equivalent of nearly 15 Amazon rivers.

The AMOC brings warm water from the equator up toward the Atlantic's northern reaches and cold water back down through the deep ocean. The current is partly why Western Europe enjoys temperate weather, and meteorologists are linking changes in North Atlantic Ocean temperatures to recent summer heat waves. The circulation is also critical for fisheries off the U.S. Atlantic coast, a key part of New England's economy that have seen changes in recent years, with the cod fishery collapsing as lobster populations have boomed off the Maine coast.

Comments

Ayup

[RightwingNutjob]

That's one of them-there feedback mechanisms that cools the poles in the event they get too hot. I recall hearing about it twenty years ago, in the context of "No, the world won't end because of global warming, the planet has feedback mechanisms to dump excess heat. That's how it's still nice and comfy here after billions of years."

Re:Ayup

[KiloByte]

Europe needs to get ready for a few years of colder winters.

For now, I'm not seeing any. Just see the "War on Christmas": when I was a kid, the Christmas was white every single year, with multiple months of snow. There wasn't a single white Christmas this decade. This year, there was a single day of snow, the day before Easter.

(Yeah, a real scientist would look at measurements rather than color of Christmas, but using this particular set of data points is far more accessible to an average voter.)

That's about it about northern Poland getting cooler. Once the current stops down for real, we'll see the effects, but for now, we're getting full brunt of literal "global warming".

not a problem

[WindBourne]

Paris accord will solve all the issues with Climate Change. I am sure that if we do not focus on stopping growth in emissions, and instead all focus on per capita emissions while allowing CHina, India, Brazil, South Africa, etc to grow, that it will solve all of these issues.
I mean what could possible go wrong with stopping 1 small group of ppl while allowing others to grow far bigger in their emissions.

Re:Not new, Known unfortunate effect

[DCFusor]

I'd point out - and the XKCD below also shows indirectly, that "supporting life" is hugely different than "supporting billions of humans in comfort equivalent to today where a significant fraction are super poor and oppressed". To say things aren't fragile in that sense is indeed mental. For what it's worth, I'm considered a conservative. Because a few neocons deny GW - and neocons now pollute both false-dichotomy political parties - doesn't mean we've all lost the ability to think and analyze. What are now called liberals are anything but. These "progressives" are trying to force me to think just like them, as any good totalitarian would. The so-called conservatives are nothing like the dictionary - they seem to want war, to supress a different set of rights than the "liberals" but are statist none the less, have forgotten conservative values like "look before you leap", "spend less than you make", "don't fix things that ain't broke" and "don't start wars" (well, both fake sides forgot that one - Obama, for example had more war-days * number of places we fought than anyone else in history. So much for a peace prize. I'm sure Libya is better off now, or...). I want my language back. These liars who do so to keep power over us ruin it so we can't discuss intelligently. That sucks. https://xkcd.com/1732/

Re: It's the middle of April

[jd]

Not change? On average, for virtually all of the last 250 million years.

The last century has seen more change than in any given ten million year period. I assume you've done calculus. Ok, maybe not.

Nobody is spending trillions on climate change. If they had done so, it wouldn't be a problem. It's because they're too busy spending it on known things like warships, cruise missiles, nuclear warheads and pay raises for bankers and the uber-wealthy that there's a problem.

No, I have absolutely bugger all sympathy for your argument.

Oh, and Get Off My Lawn!