CBS news reports this today in climate changes being noted.. And the cause thereof:
An influential current system in the Atlantic Ocean, which plays a vital role in redistributing heat throughout our planet’s climate system, is now moving more slowly than it has in at least 1,600 years. That’s the conclusion of a new study published in the journal Nature Geoscience from some of the world’s leading experts in this field.
Scientists believe that part of this slowing is directly related to our warming climate, as melting ice alters the balance in northern waters. Its impact may be seen in storms, heat waves and sea-level rise. And it bolsters concerns that if humans are not able to limit warming, the system could eventually reach a tipping point, throwing global climate patterns into disarray.
The Gulf Stream along the U.S. East Coast is an integral part of this system, which is known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC. It was made famous in the 2004 film “The Day After Tomorrow,” in which the ocean current abruptly stops, causing immense killer storms to spin up around the globe, like a super-charged tornado in Los Angeles and a wall of water smashing into New York City.
This was the type of climate change made popular in the film THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW.. that film showcased a sudden stoppage of the gulfstream, causing a super charged storm to take over the planet with flooding rains and an immediate new ice age..
While it may not happen quite that fast (though there is some evidence of food still being newly consumed by animals in previous ice ages) the Gulf Stream is dramatically important to the way climate works across the planet. It is the super highway of weather..
New research shows that the circulation has slowed down by at least 15% since 1950.
Scientists in the new study say the weakening of the current is “unprecedented in the past millennium.” Scientists worry that it is estimated the circulation may slow by 34% to 45% if we continue to heat the planet..by the end of the century.
Art Bell and Whitley Streiber wrote THE COMING GLOBAL SUPERSTORM way back in the 20th century..
Now science accepts the impact the Gulf Stream would have over global climate.
So it is interesting to see how both authors were treated by Matt Lauer in 1999.