EcoWatch
Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k Subscribe Subscribe
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
      • Top Companies By State
        • California Solar Companies
        • Texas Solar Companies
        • New York Solar Companies
        • Florida Solar Companies
        • See All States
      • Top Incentives By State
        • California Solar Incentives
        • Texas Solar Incentives
        • New York Solar Incentives
        • Florida Solar Incentives
        • See All States
      • Solar Panel Costs By State
        • Solar Panel Costs in California
        • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
        • Solar Panel Costs in New York
        • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
        • See All States
      • Value of Solar by State
        • Is Solar Worth It In California?
        • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
        • Is Solar Worth It New York?
        • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
        • See All States
      • Company Reviews
        • Tesla Solar Review
        • Sunrun Solar Review
        • SunPower Solar Review
        • Vivint Solar Review
        • See All Companies
      • Common Solar Questions
        • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
        • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
        • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
        • Can You Finance Solar?
        • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
        • Payback On Solar Panels?
      • Solar Resources
        • Interactive Solar Calculator
        • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
        • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
        • Tesla Solar Roof Review
        • Cheapest Solar Panels
      • Companies Compared
        • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs SunPower
        • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
        • SunPower vs ADT Solar
EcoWatch
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
    • Go Solar Today
    • Top Companies By State
      • California Solar Companies
      • Texas Solar Companies
      • New York Solar Companies
      • Florida Solar Companies
      • See All States
    • Top Incentives By State
      • California Solar Incentives
      • Texas Solar Incentives
      • New York Solar Incentives
      • Florida Solar Incentives
      • See All States
    • Solar Panel Costs By State
      • Solar Panel Costs in California
      • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
      • Solar Panel Costs in New York
      • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
      • See All States
    • Value of Solar by State
      • Is Solar Worth It In California?
      • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
      • Is Solar Worth It New York?
      • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
      • See All States
    • Company Reviews
      • Tesla Solar Review
      • Sunrun Solar Review
      • SunPower Solar Review
      • Vivint Solar Review
      • See All Companies
    • Common Solar Questions
      • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
      • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
      • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
      • Can You Finance Solar?
      • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
      • Payback On Solar Panels?
    • Solar Resources
      • Interactive Solar Calculator
      • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
      • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
      • Tesla Solar Roof Review
      • Cheapest Solar Panels
    • Companies Compared
      • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs SunPower
      • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
      • SunPower vs ADT Solar

The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    EcoWatch
    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    Home Climate

    Gulf Stream Could Collapse Between 2025 and 2095, Bringing Disastrous Climate Impacts, Study Finds

    By: Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
    Published: July 26, 2023
    Edited by Chris McDermott
    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon
    Satellite image of the Gulf Stream taken in 2000 using LANDSAT data
    Satellite image of the Gulf Stream taken in 2000 using LANDSAT data. Planet Observer / Universal Images Group via Getty Images
    Why you can trust us

    Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

    The Gulf Stream is a strong current of warm water that flows from the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic Ocean, and runs from the East Coast of the United States across the Atlantic and north past Western Europe. Without the Gulf Stream, which is part of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a system of ocean currents that is vital to Earth’s climate, places like England would be much colder.

    A new study by Susanne Ditlevsen and Peter Ditlevsen, researchers with the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, has concluded that the AMOC is at risk of collapsing around mid-century, much earlier than scientists had previously thought.

    “The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is a major tipping element in the climate system and a future collapse would have severe impacts on the climate in the North Atlantic region,” the authors wrote in the study. “We estimate a collapse of the AMOC to occur around mid-century under the current scenario of future emissions.”

    More From EcoWatch
    • How to Conserve Energy
    • What Is Solar Energy & How Does it Work?
    • A Brief History of Solar Energy

    In the study, the researchers conclude that there is a 95 percent probability that “a transition of the AMOC” will happen around 2025 to 2095.

    Consistent measurements of the AMOC have not been ongoing for very long.

    “The AMOC has only been monitored continuously since 2004 through combined measurements from moored instruments, induced electrical currents in submarine cables and satellite surface measurements. Over the period 2004–2012, a decline in the AMOC has been observed, but longer records are necessary to assess the significance,” the study said.

    The study, “Warning of a forthcoming collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation,” was published in the journal Nature Communications.

    For the study, the researchers looked at North Atlantic sea surface temperatures south of Greenland from 1870 to 2020. Peter Ditlevsen said the area of the ocean they analyzed is warmed by the Gulf Stream, “so if it cools, it’s because the AMOC is weakening,” reported CNN. The pair of researchers took into account how human-caused global warming had influenced the water temperature and subtracted those impacts.

    The researchers detected early signs of crucial changes in the AMOC, and Peter Ditlevsen said the collapse of the powerful complex system of currents was most likely to occur between 2039 and 2070.

    “It’s really scary,” Ditlevsen told CNN. “This is not something you would lightly put into papers… we’re very confident that this is a robust result.”

    The strength of the AMOC currents are reliant upon a balance of water salinity and temperature, but as ocean temperatures increase and the planet’s ancient ice melts, more freshwater is released into the ocean, reducing its density and ability to sink and cause currents. When ocean waters become too warm, too fresh, or a combination of the two, it dramatically affects currents like the Gulf Stream.

    The rapid melting of glaciers has caused the AMOC to stop before, but it’s been more than 12,000 years. When it did, within a decade temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere oscillated from 18 to 27 degrees Fahrenheit.

    “There is still large uncertainty where the Amoc tipping point is, but the new study adds to the evidence that it is much closer than we thought,” said Stefan Rahmstorf, a climatologist, oceanographer and Professor of Physics of the Oceans at the University of Potsdam in Germany, as The Guardian reported. “A single study provides limited evidence, but when multiple approaches have led to similar conclusions this must be taken very seriously, especially when we’re talking about a risk that we really want to rule out with 99.9% certainty. Now we can’t even rule out crossing the tipping point in the next decade or two.”

    Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

      By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

      Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Cristen is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. She holds a JD and an Ocean & Coastal Law Certificate from University of Oregon School of Law and an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. She is the author of the short story collection The Smallest of Entryways, as well as the travel biography, Ernest’s Way: An International Journey Through Hemingway’s Life.
      Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

      Read More

      Twitter/X Climate Misinformation Policies Ranked Worst in Survey of Big Tech Platforms
      The Climate of Misinformation report by Climate Action Against Disinformation,
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
      New York Enacts Law Requiring Property Sellers to Disclose Flooding Risk
      In New York, anyone looking to sell a property will
      By Paige Bennett
      Shading Corals Four Hours a Day Could Slow Bleaching, Scientists Find
      As the climate crisis causes global ocean temperatures to reach
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

        By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

        Latest Articles

        • At 92, the Lungfish Methuselah Is the Oldest Fish in Captivity
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          September 25, 2023
        • Twitter/X Climate Misinformation Policies Ranked Worst in Survey of Big Tech Platforms
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          September 25, 2023
        • New York Enacts Law Requiring Property Sellers to Disclose Flooding Risk
          by Paige Bennett
          September 25, 2023
        • Shading Corals Four Hours a Day Could Slow Bleaching, Scientists Find
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          September 22, 2023
        • Wildlife Living in Cities Exemplify ‘Urban Trait Syndrome,’ Study Says
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          September 22, 2023
        • Drought Drives Biggest Southern African Elephant Migration Since 2019
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          September 22, 2023
        • Extreme Heat 101: Everything You Need to Know
          by Olivia Rosane
          September 22, 2023
        • White Rhino Population in Africa Increases for First Time Since 2012
          by Paige Bennett
          September 22, 2023
        EcoWatch

        The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

          • Climate Climate
          • Animals Animals
          • Health + Wellness Health + Wellness
          • Insights + Opinion Insights + Opinion
          • Adventure Adventure
          • Oceans Oceans
          • Business Business
          • Solar Solar
          • About EcoWatch
          • Contact EcoWatch
          • EcoWatch Reviews
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Learn About Solar Energy
          • Learn About Deregulated Energy
          • EcoWatch UK
          Follow Us
          Facebook 573k
          Twitter 238k
          Instagram 37k
          Subscribe Subscribe

          Experts for a healthier planet and life.

          Mentioned by:
          Learn more
          • Privacy Policy
          • Terms of Use
          • Cookie Preferences
          • Do Not Sell My Information
          © 2023 EcoWatch. All Rights Reserved.