Submitted by rhinotomus t3_y23ytd in askscience
Crede777 t1_is1k4wo wrote
Reply to comment by [deleted] in Does the salinity of ocean water increase as depth increases? by rhinotomus
What are the immediate and longterm projected impacts of climate change on thermohaline circulation and the underlying ecologies based on this process?
jellyfixh t1_is1mdsc wrote
The major concern is the slowing or stopping of the AMOC, the major deep water current that runs through the atlantic. Since one of the only places on earth that can make very cold and salty deep water is off the coast of greenland, and the glacier on greenland have been melting, there is much concern that this freshwater run off will cause the water near greenland to be more bouyant, causing deep water circulation to slow down or halt altogether. The consequences of this are speculative but none of them are good, as the AMOC brings important oxygen to deep water and slowing that down could cause the deep ocean to get progressively more oxygen depleted and acidic.
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