Latest news with #WeiLiu
Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Science
- Daily Mirror
Gulf Stream 'on verge of collapsing' and could send UK temperatures to -30C
The Gulf Stream carries warm water flowing from the tip of Florida across the Atlantic towards Europe and is responsible for much of the UK's average temperatures Temperatures in the UK could plummet quicker than first feared as scientists confirm the Gulf Stream is weakening faster than originally believed. Scientists from the University of California are warning that the weather system - crucial to bringing warmer air to the UK - has been weakening for more than 100 years and could soon collapse altogether. The Gulf Stream carries warm water flowing from the tip of Florida across the Atlantic towards Europe and is responsible for much of the UK's average temperatures. Officially called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), it has been described as the conveyor belt of the ocean and without it, the mercury across the continent would drop with the UK alone falling by at least 10C and many fear it could get much colder than that too. The latest findings show the trend is unlikely to let up, before the AMOC collapses altogether. Lead author, Professor Wei Liu, said: "This work shows the AMOC has been weakening for more than a century. That trend is likely to continue if greenhouse gases keep rising." The study, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, links a bizarre 1,000-mile wide patch of cold water south of Greenland and Iceland, that really shouldn't be there, to the long-term weakening of the AMOC. Unlike the water around it, this area of cold water has resisted global warming for more than a century. Prof Liu, who has studied 100 years of data, added: "'People have been asking why this cold spot exists; we found the most likely answer is a weakening AMOC." He added that the study strengthens future climate forecasts, especially those concerning Europe, where the influence of the AMOC is most pronounced and warned that a total collapse of the system could be severe. Last week, another team of scientists, reported temperatures could plunge to -30°C in Scotland if the AMOC collapsed, with Edinburgh spending nearly half of the year with a minimum temperature of below zero. London would also experience cold extremes of -19°C in a worst case scenario. No timeframe has been given for when a total collapse of the AMOC might occur.
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
The Gulf Stream is on the verge of COLLAPSING, scientists warn - as they find the first concrete evidence of major ocean circulation system weakening
In the 2004 film 'The Day After Tomorrow', Earth enters a sudden period of flash freezing due to the collapse of the Gulf Stream. People and buildings are buried under mountains of ice and snow, as freezing cold winds whip vehicles into the air. Now, a study has revealed that this could soon become a reality. Scientists from the University of California, Riverside, have warned that the Gulf Stream has been weakening for more than 100 years - and could soon collapse altogether. The Gulf Stream is only a small part of a much wider system of currents, officially called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Described as 'the conveyor belt of the ocean', AMOC transports warm, salty water near the ocean's surface northwards from the tropics up to the northern hemisphere, keeping Europe, the UK and the US east coast temperate. Worryingly, if the AMOC does collapse, it could plunge large parts of Europe into a deep freeze - with parts of the UK dropping to as low as -30°C. 'This work shows the AMOC has been weakening for more than a century. That trend is likely to continue if greenhouse gases keep rising,' said Professor Wei Liu, an author of the study. The researchers point to a strange patch of cold water south of Greenland and Iceland, about 1,000 miles wide, that really shouldn't be there. Unlike the water surrounding it, this 'stubborn' patch of cold water has resisted global warming for more than a century, long fueling debate amongst scientists. Now, the new study, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, finally links it to a long-term weakening of the AMOC. 'People have been asking why this cold spot exists; we found the most likely answer is a weakening AMOC,' said lead study author Wei Liu. Lui and a colleague analysed about 100 years of salinity and temperature data, which can be used to understand the strength of the AMOC. When the AMOC slows down, less heat and salt reach the North Atlantic, leading to cooler, fresher, less salty surface waters. From these long-term salinity and temperature records, they reconstructed changes in the circulation system and compared those with nearly 100 different climate models. They found that only the models simulating a weakened AMOC matched the real-world data – indicating that a weakened AMOC was the only possible cause for the blob. While previous studies have offered evidence that the AMOC is weakening, this anomalous blob in the Atlantic offers physical, tangible evidence What is the AMOC? The Gulf Stream is a small part of a much wider system of currents, officially called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation or AMOC. Described as 'the conveyor belt of the ocean', it transports warm water near the ocean's surface northwards - from the tropics to the northern hemisphere. When the warm water reaches the North Atlantic (Europe and the UK, and the US east coast), it releases the heat and then freezes. As this ice forms, salt is left behind in the ocean water. Due to the large amount of salt in the water, it becomes denser, sinks, and is carried southwards – back towards the tropics – in the depths below. Eventually, the water gets pulled back up towards the surface and warms up in a process called upwelling, completing the cycle. Scientists think AMOC brings enough warmth to the northern hemisphere that without it, large parts of Europe could enter a deep freeze. Professor Li described it as a 'very robust correlation', adding: 'If you look at the observations and compare them with all the simulations, only the weakened-AMOC scenario reproduces the cooling in this one region.' Until now, some climate scientists had thought the random cool patch south of Greenland has been due to atmospheric factors such as aerosol pollution. But computer models testing this theory have before now failed to recreate the actual, observed cooling – as these experts have done with the now-proven AMOC theory. The team say the study strengthens future climate forecasts, especially those concerning Europe, where the influence of the AMOC is most pronounced. While previous studies have offered evidence that the AMOC is weakening, this anomalous blob in the Atlantic offers physical, tangible evidence. Professor Liu emphasized the complexity of the AMOC's role in the global climate, but warned what a total collapse of the system could mean. 'The overall impact on ecosystems and weather patterns, both in the Arctic and globally, could still be severe,' he said. Professor David Thornalley, a climate scientist at University College London who was not involved with the study, said temperatures would plummet if the AMOC collapsed. 'An AMOC collapse could cause more weather extremes, so as well as overall colder-than-average conditions, we also expect that there would be more winter storms caused by stronger westerly winds,' he previously told MailOnline. Why could the AMOC collapse? Scientists think melting glaciers could cause the collapse of the AMOC, the system of ocean currents. Described as 'the conveyor belt of the ocean', the AMOC transports warm water near the ocean's surface northwards – from the tropics up to the northern hemisphere. Prior studies have already shown that due to climate change, the AMOC is slowing down. The engine of this conveyor belt is off the coast of Greenland, where, as more ice melts from climate change , more freshwater flows into the North Atlantic and slows everything down. 'Unfortunately people would die due to stronger winter storms and flooding, and many old and young would be vulnerable to the very cold winter temperatures.' In the UK, the effects could be 'minor' compared with elsewhere around the world, Professor Thornalley added. 'A collapse in AMOC would cause a shift in the tropical rainfall belt which would massively disrupt agriculture and water supplies across huge swathes of the globe,' he said. 'Many millions would be affected and suffer from drought, famine and flooding, in countries that are already struggling to deal with these issues. There would be huge numbers of climate refugees, geopolitical tensions would rise.' Jonathan Bamber, a professor of Earth observation at the University of Bristol, agreed that if the AMOC were to collapse, the climate of northwest Europe would be 'unrecognisable compared to what it is today'. 'It would be several degrees cooler so that winters would be more typical of Arctic Canada and precipitation would decrease also,' he told MailOnline. 'Very harsh, cold winters would certainly be a threat to life.' In 'The Day After Tomorrow', a collapse of the AMOC takes place over a matter of days and the fictional weather immediately switches to extreme cold. Thankfully, such a rapid transition will not happen in real life, said Penny Holliday, head of marine physics and ocean circulation at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton. 'If the AMOC does reach a tipping point it will happen over several decades at least,' she told MailOnline. 'However a slowdown of the AMOC, whether it is fast-acting or takes place over many decades, will lead to the generation of more extreme and violent weather systems that have the potential to cause deaths and major damage.' Last week, another team of scientists reported temperatures could plunge to -30°C in Scotland if the AMOC collapsed, with Edinburgh spending nearly half of the year with a minimum temperature of below 0°C. London, meanwhile, would experience cold extremes of -19°C and record over two months' worth of additional days with sub-zero temperatures compared to the late 19th century. Is 'The Day After Tomorrow' an accurate portrayal of the future? Paleoclimate records constructed from Greenland ice cores have revealed that AMOC circulation has, indeed, shut down in the past and caused regional climate change, according to the University of Illinois. It caused the area around Greenland to cool by 44 degrees Fahrenheit. In the 2004 film 'The Day After Tomorrow,' New York City's temperature dramatically dropped to a point that a deep freeze appeared within a day. Even a second outside and the movie's characters would freeze to death. Scientists say the film plays up the shift, which would take decades to see, but note temperatures would dramatically decrease along the eastern US coast. Winters would become colder and storms more frequent that would linger longer throughout the year if the AMOC would come to a halt today. However, scientist say it isn't the cold temperatures that we should prepare for, it will be the rise in sea levels that will have the largest impact. The increase would be caused by water piling up along the east coast that would have been pushed away by the northward surface flow. But with AMOC weakened, or at a stop, experts say sea levels around the North Atlantic Basin could experience a rise up to nearly 20 inches. This would eventually push people living along the coast from their homes and further inland to escape flooding. A weakened AMOC would also decrease the amount of rainfalls in the North Atlantic that would cause intense droughts in areas that rarely experience such events.
CBC
12-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Fredericton landlord buys former jail, lists it for rent at $8,500 a month
New owner would need provincial approval to alter character-defining features of former York County jail A heritage preservation advocate is hoping a historic downtown Fredericton building is spared of a fate similar to some of the residents who once occupied it, following its recent sale to a private real estate company. Once the site of public executions, the former York County jail was purchased in March by a numbered company registered to Wei Liu, who also owns more than a dozen other commercial and residential properties throughout Fredericton. "If they're looking to lease the building, hopefully that means that they're giving some time and consideration to what the the future use will be," said Ian Robertson, a director with Fredericton Heritage Trust. "And hopefully, unlike perhaps some of the the former inmates of the jail who may have received life sentences or even death sentences, that this building will have a stay of execution, and live to see another day for many, many years." Constructed in 1842, the building on Brunswick Street, near the Boyce Farmers Market, served as a jail until 1996 but remained steeped in notoriety for being the site of public executions — the last of which occurred in 1949, with a double-hanging. Science East moved into the building in 1999, converting the cells and a dining hall into offices and exhibit spaces, where it offered science education programming until early last year. Then the organization ran into financial challenges. It still operates without a science centre, offering bookings for school workshops and educational outreach events, according to Science East's website. The former jail was designated a provincial heritage building in 2003. Listed for $1.2M, sold for $800K While the building was originally listed for sale for $1.2 million, provincial property records show Liu's numbered company purchased it for $800,000 in March. New Brunswick's corporate affairs registry shows the numbered company controls Sunfield Property, which has since listed the building for rent on its website for $8,500 per month. According to the listing, permitted uses include a daycare, retail, office, or restaurant within the building's 10,000 square-foot floor plan. Photos shared in the listing suggest little to no changes have been made to the interior layout of the building since Science East moved out, with the organization's branding and equipment still visible in some pictures. CBC News requested an interview with Liu about his plans for the building but did not receive a response. Repealing designation possible, says heritage advocate The building is described as "pure Georgian functional architecture," in a profile of the former jail by the Canadian Register of Historic Places, which is administered by Parks Canada. Designed by architect Thomas Smith, it was built by local contractor Andrew Blair primarily using grey granite extracted from the Spoon Island quarry near Hampstead in southern New Brunswick. While Robertson finds some comfort knowing the building has a provincial heritage designation, he said the new owner could request that it be repealed. "And sometimes that's necessary unfortunately, but it's sort of one step down the road, I guess. That puts a property in sort of a questionable or delicate situation in terms of not having certain standards in place that has to be maintained." According to the Heritage Conservation Act, the owner of a provincially designated building must receive a permit from the minister of tourism, heritage and culture before making any alterations that change its character-defining features. Removal of a heritage designation would a sign-off from the minister. CBC News asked the department if the new owner has applied to either alter the building or repeal its designation. "To date, the Department has not received any inquiries or requests to repeal the designation," spokesperson Jean Bertin said in an email. "One Provincial Heritage Permit has been issued to the new owner to install replica prison bars on the front windows in a historically appropriate manner."
