“... that requires urgent attention,” Rahmstorf said.
In subsequent interviews regarding the phenomenon, Rahmstorf maintained that the deep-sea cooling trend remains a clear indicator of declining current velocity.
“Only explain a modest fraction of the cold blob,” he said.
He restated that observational models corroborate the oceanic origin of the subpolar temperature anomalies.
“Even if, in some modeling approaches, it seems possible that the cold blob is caused by the atmosphere, in fact, the data show it is caused by the ocean,” Rahmstorf said.
Other members of the global scientific community agree that the subpolar region exhibits extreme vulnerability to these ongoing circulation changes.
“The region to the south of Greenland is highly sensitive to AMOC change,” said Wei Liu, climate scientist at the University of California, Riverside.
Ocean scientists also note that minor shifts in the current will reverberate through marine biology and commercial fisheries by altering nutrient distribution.
“Even without a collapse, a weakening of the AMOC could have serious climate impacts,” said Jonathan Baker, ocean scientist at the Met Office.
While some researchers maintain that fears of an immediate total collapse remain premature, the long-term structural changes continue to face intense scrutiny.
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“It won’t be the final word,” said David Thornalley, researcher at University College London.
