Environmental News Network - Deep Ocean Currents Around Antarctica Headed For Collapse, Study Finds

Details: By University of New South Wales; 31.Mar

Antarctic circulation could slow by more than 40 per cent over the next three decades, with significant implications for oceans and the climate.

Julie Swatson

Antarctic circulation could slow by more than 40 per cent over the next three decades, with significant implications for oceans and the climate.

The deep ocean circulation that forms around Antarctica could be headed for collapse, say scientists.

Such a decline would stagnate the bottom of the oceans and affect climate and marine ecosystems for centuries to come.

The results are detailed in a new study coordinated by Scientia Professor Matthew England, Deputy Director of the ARC Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS) at UNSW Sydney. The work, published today in Nature, includes lead author Dr Qian Li – formerly from UNSW and now at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – as well as co-authors from the Australian National University (ANU) and CSIRO.

Read more at University of New South Wales

Photo Credit: InstaWalli via Pixabay

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Deep Ocean Currents Around Antarctica Headed For Collapse, Study Finds