Slowdown of critical ocean current may preserve the Amazon rainforest
Rainfall in the Amazon may be influenced by sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean
Maarten Zeehandelaar/Shutterstock
The potentially catastrophic slowdown of a critical ocean current due to climate change may have one upside: it could help prop up the Amazon rainforest in the face of rising temperatures.
The collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and the transformation of the Amazon rainforest into savannah are two of the most serious tipping points anticipated to occur if global warming continues – defined as abrupt shifts in Earth’s systems that can cause global, irreversible impacts. Some studies suggest that the…
