The Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science (ACEAS) today published a new Explainer on the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) – a vast system of ocean currents that underpins Earth’s climate and ocean health.

Often described as the ocean’s ‘conveyor belt’, the MOC moves vast quantities of heat, carbon, oxygen and nutrients around the globe. In the North Atlantic the MOC helps keep Western Europe mild. Globally, the Antarctic and Atlantic MOCs support fisheries and control weather patterns. But this critical system of currents is weakening.

https://antarctic.org.au/new-aceas-explainer-highlights-risks-of-slowing-global-ocean-overturning-circulation/

 

The slowing of the current has been known for decades — perhaps this “explainer” offers an improved explanation of the phenomenon