
Atlantic Ocean Current Slows to 1000 Year Low - HankB99
https://www.npr.org/2018/04/13/602240020/atlantic-ocean-current-slows-down-to-1-000-year-low-studies-show
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HankB99
Further discussion at
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16838010](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16838010)

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cs702
There's a great little book called "Ice Age"[a], written by a Cambridge
University astrophysicist and his wife, in which they discuss in lay language
what would happen if this "underwater conveyor belt" in the Atlantic, which
helps regulate global temperatures, were ever to stop or (gasp!) reverse:
global weather patterns likely would drastically change and the planet would
likely accelerate towards a _glacial period_.[b]

For example, if you look at a map of the world, you will notice that the UK is
at roughly the same latitude as some of the northernmost parts of Canada but
is much warmer. This is partly due to the warm waters brought by the
Atlantic's "conveyor belt" to the waters surrounding the UK's coasts. If these
warm waters stop flowing toward the UK, its weather would likely evolve to
resemble that of northern Canada.

There are other complicated factors and feedback loops involved, but this
example should give you an idea of how important this Atlantic current is to
the stability of global climate.

[a] [https://www.amazon.com/Ice-Age-John-
Gribbin/dp/1511926422](https://www.amazon.com/Ice-Age-John-
Gribbin/dp/1511926422)

[b]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacial_period](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacial_period)

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notacoward
This has been a worrying prospect on the horizon for a while now, and it looks
like it's becoming real. Time to buy stock in companies that sell
heating/insulation services and cold-weather clothing in previously warm parts
of Europe.

