A current system in the Atlantic Ocean that shapes regional climates and distributes ocean nutrients also serves as a control knob to help regulate temperatures across the planet, new research has found.
A current system in the Atlantic Ocean that shapes regional climates and distributes ocean nutrients also serves as a control knob to help regulate temperatures across the planet, new research has found.
An analysis of past natural oscillations in the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation system, or AMOC, shows that during periods with a strong AMOC, the global ocean and planet lost heat. When the AMOC was weak, the global ocean and planet gained additional heat.
“The AMOC works like a heat valve that controls the energy budget of the planet,” said Christo Buizert, a paleoclimatologist at Oregon State University and lead author of the study, which was just published in Nature Geoscience.
Read More: Oregon State University
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