Latest news with #BeaufortGyre
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists issue dire warning after making frightening discovery in the Atlantic Ocean: 'Sudden, wide-reaching impacts'
A new study from researchers in Norway, Sweden, Germany, and the U.K. cautions that changes from our overheating planet on a major ocean current could unleash a chain of events that would alter the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a powerful ocean current system in the Atlantic that helps to balance our planet's climate, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. Scientists say changes due to our warming world are being detected in another major ocean current located in the Arctic, the Beaufort Gyre, which could cause a series of events that would allow an influx of freshwater into the North Atlantic. "The results of this study make us concerned that the reduction of sea ice in the area could lead to a tipping point where the AMOC collapses," said Céline Heuzé, a senior Lecturer in Climatology at the University of Gothenburg and one of the authors of the study, per SciTechDaily. "We find that most models predict that the gyre will shrink in a future warmer climate, in response to changes in the atmosphere," concluded the international team of scientists behind the study, which was published in the JGR Oceans journal and shared by Wiley. "This gyre decline is predicted both under a high-emission scenario and under an intermediate 'middle of the road' emission scenario. The BG region would no longer accumulate freshwater. This could impact future oceanic properties in the Arctic and in the North Atlantic." If melting sea ice crosses a critical tipping point, resulting in the Gyre allowing a large volume of freshwater to flow into the North Atlantic, the AMOC would be at risk of weakening and perhaps collapsing. "Such a collapse would be what scientists call a 'climate tipping point' — an event that would lead to sudden, wide-reaching impacts that are difficult if not impossible to reverse," according to MIT professor of oceanography Raffaele Ferrari. "Changing currents would cause sea levels to rise swiftly in areas like the U.S. East Coast, storms would grow more severe, the rainy and dry seasons in the Amazon may flip, and the ice age pattern of a cooling north and warming south would play out once again." The good news is that a study published in February found that the circulation hasn't declined in the last six decades and that it might be more resilient than once thought. However, most research suggests that if heat-trapping pollution remains high, the slow AMOC process will slow even further in the future, and it is not a matter of if it will collapse, but when. Do you think we should deal with air pollution by burying things underground? Sounds great No way Only for certain waste I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. A significant reduction in the amount of heat-trapping gases being released into Earth's atmosphere could help prevent the collapse of the AMOC. It will take a massive transition from dirty energy sources to renewable options. Making changes to our homes is one way we can all help. Replacing old HVAC systems with a heat pump, installing solar panels, and opting for an induction stove instead of a conventional range are ways to reduce energy bills and reduce harmful carbon pollution. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
VIN'S PEOPLE: Lakewood Ranch senior competing for major science scholarship
Bowhead whales. The Beaufort Gyre. Oceanic migration patterns. They're the focus of a fascinating research project by Addison Shea, one of the 2025 Regeneron Science Talent Search finalists vying for over $1.8 million beginning Thursday in Washington, D.C. The gifted Lakewood Ranch High senior is among 40 students selected from 2,500 entrants for the 84-year-old competition that has produced 13 Nobel Prizes and 23 MacArthur Fellowships. 'I'm just honored to have gotten this far,' Shea said. Spurred by a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution publication, her project examines how a changing Arctic Ocean current, the Beaufort Gyre north of Alaska, coincided with migration patterns of the Bowhead whale, magnificent 60-ton creatures with a 200-year lifespan in the Arctic and subarctic. 'I'd never heard of the Beaufort Gyre, but wanted to understand how it worked.' According to Shea, the current rotated clockwise every five to seven years the last century then briefly rotated counter-clockwise, releasing accumulated freshwater and nutrients into the neighboring Atlantic sea current. But, for undetermined reasons, it hasn't switched directions in two decades. So, using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data base, Shea got busy. 'I wanted to see how significant this current's patterns were to the overall ecosystem. So, I picked the bowhead whales because they're good indicators. By seeing any changes in their behavior and their migration patterns, it can indicate corresponding changes in the behavior of other species in this environment – plankton, zooplankton, their prey. The whales' migratory patterns did, in fact, change. They were following their food source.' Already accepted by Yale, Michigan and Florida among others, Shea's ambition is scientific research and the competition prize money – $25,000 for finalists, $40,000-$250,000 for top 10 awardees – would help reach that goal. 'We'll see.' · Speaking of scholarships, the $1,500 Drevian J. Mays Scholarship deadline is March 28 for high school seniors. Co-sponsored by the 13th AV Dream Center and the Drevian J. Mays Foundation, the scholarship honors the memory of the late Braden River High student-athlete. Visit to apply. · Popi Ameres is 39. Again. · So is Linda Mason. · Salutes to new Bradenton Police Department Officers Tammy Chavez, Aaron Layne and Donvil White. · And Dave Grantham is one year shy of the Big 7-0! · Tickets are available until Friday for the Manatee Community Foundation's Spirit of Manatee 2025 luncheon March 13 at the Palmetto Marriott. Visit Vin's People runs Sundays. Email Vin Mannix at vinspeople@ Or call 941-962-5944. This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: VIN MANNIX: Lakewood Ranch senior competing for major US science prize
