“Rapid collapse” of the global system of ocean currents will lead to the end of tourism in Europe. The population will not be for travel. Such conclusions of American scientists are published by the well-known scientific journal Nature.
As the experts said, it is about the so-called AMOC system (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Current) – it is a grand system of currents in the Atlantic Ocean, which carries water from the equator to the poles, and cold water back to the equator. The well-known Gulf Stream is only a branch of the AMOC.
The Gulf Stream is very important for the entire Western civilization, because thanks to it, comfortable conditions have been created in Europe and North America for the development of modern humanity, including such an industry as tourism. Essentially, the Gulf Stream is a warm current that warms arctic air that is carried by winds to the northwest of Europe, making the climate in Europe warmer on average by 5°C than it should be at these latitudes. This means that the shutdown of the Gulf Stream threatens serious cooling in Western Europe and North America. In this case, the regions are waiting for harsh winters. However, the Gulf Stream affects the climate of the entire Earth, and when it stops, droughts and all kinds of weather disasters will occur all over the planet.
At the same time, as strange as it is, the future Ice Age will happen because of the current warming: due to the melting of the Arctic ice, huge masses of melted fresh water are mixed with the salty ocean water. So the water becomes less dense and lighter. As a result, it accumulates on the surface and interferes with convection processes, in other words, it begins to block currents.
The catastrophe, according to scientists, could happen at any moment between 2025 and 2095, although it was previously thought to be a matter of several centuries.
It should be noted that scientists came to such disappointing conclusions based on computer modeling, using data from 1870 to the present day about the temperature of the water surface in the region of the subpolar circulation – this is the section of the Gulf Stream near Greenland, where warm southern waters sink to the bottom and return to the cold the bottom The temperature in this area precisely characterizes the intensity of the Gulf Stream. And as it turned out, the intensity of the current recently began to slow down significantly, reaching the minimum value for the last 1000 years.
“Very soon, the AMOC current system may freeze, which will have a catastrophic effect on the entire ecosystem of the planet,” American scientists assure. They particularly emphasized that the AMOC is a global conveyor of water on the planet and plays a key role in the climate system.
If the predictions of American scientists come true and the current system “stands up”, tourism will come to an end, as well as normal life in general. According to their forecasts, summers will become hotter, winters much colder. In addition, the water level in the seas will rise, flooding part of the coastal states – in particular, the main “beach” countries and islands will suffer.