This week sees the release of a new special issue of the Royal Society's prestigious journal 'Philosophical Transactions A', focused on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a key component of our planet’s climate system.
The new issue, called ‘Atlantic overturning: new observations and challenges', was compiled and edited by NOC scientists Professor Meric Srokosz and Professor Penny Holliday, with University of Southampton's Professor Harry Bryden.
Penny said: “The articles in the special issue provide a timely summary of the important new understanding that has grown through nearly 20 years of intensive study of the AMOC.”
“The consensus that emerges from climate models is that the AMOC will slow down over the coming century under anthropogenic climate change. However, the rate of slowdown varies so much between models that we cannot be sure by how much things will change. We cannot rule out the possibility of the AMOC undergoing very fast change or even coming to a halt, but the evidence points to that doom-laden scenario being very unlikely.”
Read Penny's full post in our brand-new Ocean Horizon blog where she explains current research into the AMOC and how recent discoveries have challenged our previous understanding. Penny also outlines key priorities for future work to provide better actionable evidence for climate mitigation and adaptation.
Click here to read the full blog
Click here to read the Royal Society special issue