Climate change is causing dangerous changes in water flow in Antarctica

Multiple media outlets are covering a new study published in the journal Nature that, according to the Times, shows that "a dramatic change in the flow of deep-sea waters around Antarctica threatens to deplete large parts of the world's oceans of nutrients and oxygen within decades." The newspaper adds: "The research focused on the so-called an upheaval circulation in which huge volumes of cold, dense water sink into the ocean depths near the poles. This water, enriched with oxygen, carbon and nutrients, eventually returns to the upper ocean at lower latitudes, where it sustains marine ecosystems. This mechanism was mentioned in the Hollywood film The Day After Tomorrow, where it collapsed in the North Atlantic due to climate change, leading to disaster. The new research looks at an equivalent system in the Southern Hemisphere, which has been the subject of much less study." of the collapse: “In the past it took about 1,000 years for these circulations to change, but this is only happening in a few decades. It's much faster than we thought these circulations could slow down. We are talking about the possible long-term disappearance of the iconic water mass." Reuters draws attention to the findings of a study according to which "the flow of deep-sea water from Antarctica could decrease by 40 % by 2050". BBC News reports that "the study's findings also suggest that slowing circulation would also mean the ocean would not be able to absorb as much CO2 from the atmosphere as its upper layers would 'stratify'."

Rhys Blakely, The Times, Carbon Brief