Fear and loathing in the Southern sea

Various news organizations are reporting that a major ocean current in the Southern Hemisphere has reversed direction for the first time in recorded history.. climatologists are calling a “catastrophic” and a tipping point in the global climate system.

The change in current was reported by Spanish marine scientists at El Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) in Barcelona. Now there is scientific speculation about what it will do to the planet..

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The study’s main finding is both surprising and alarming: since 2016, a sustained increase in surface salinity has been detected across the Antartic Circumpolar Current. That  change in water composition suggests a change in the balance of the components the ocean circulation in the Southern Hemisphere. Fresher surface water close to the sea ice edge is being replaced by more saline waters.

“We are witnessing a true change in ocean properties in the Southern Hemisphere—something we’ve never seen before. Climate models predict freshening  of surface wàters in the Southern Ocean, while we observe the opposite, an increase in salinity” explains Antonio Turiel, ICM-CSIC researcher and co-author of the study. “While the world is debating the potential collapse of the AMOC in the North Atlantic, we’re seeing that the Southern Ocean is drastically changing, as sea ice coverage declines and the upper ocean is becoming saltier. This could have unprecedented global climate impacts.”

Here is the link to the full study..