Climate change is accelerating one of the most powerful ocean currents

The only ocean current that travels around the planet is accelerating, according to an investigation that discovered a change in Antarctic ocean, the region that absorbs the most human-caused global warming.

Analysis of decades of data has allowed scientists to verify, for the first time, that the circumpolar Antarctic Current (CCA) is undergoing this acceleration, according to a study published The nature of climate changeSigned by American and Chinese experts.

to study, satellite measurements of sea level rise and data collected by the global network of argo ocean buoys (fully operational since 2007), to detect a trend in the velocity of the upper layer of the Antarctic Ocean It has been kept hidden from scholars until now.

The prevailing westerly winds accelerated as the climate warmed Models show that ocean currents don’t change much but rather It activates ocean eddies, which are circular motions of water that run counter to major currents.

From notes and models alike, The team saw that changing ocean temperature was causing the significant acceleration of ocean currents detected over the past decades. The CEC surrounds Antarctica and separates cooler water to the south from the warmer subtropical waters to the north.

This warmer part of the ocean absorbs much of the heat that human activities add to the Earth’s atmosphere. For this reason, scientists consider it necessary to understand its dynamics, because what happens in it can affect the climate elsewhere, he told the University of San Diego (USA) in a statement.

Ocean warming pattern issues. When the gradient, or the amount of heat difference, between warm and cold water increases, The currents are accelerating between these two masses.

“The main driver of the chromatic copper arsenate is wind, but we have shown that there are changes in its velocity. Surprisingly due to changes in the temperature gradientSaid Lynn Talley, co-author of the report from the University of San Diego.

for authors, The current is likely to accelerate further as the Southern Ocean continues to absorb heat Because of human-caused global warming.

The nature of climate change Another study is published in which it considered the strategic withdrawal of ultra-polluting power plants It could cumulatively save six million lives in the world between 2010 and 2050, assuming mitigation policies that successfully avoid 1.5°C global warming are successfully implemented.

Research from Peking Tsinghua University suggests that the health benefits of mitigating climate change may be Rely on complementary programs, such as the deployment of pollution control technologies and the removal of ultra-contaminated units.

(With information from EFE)

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