Categories: Cryosphere Capsules

Increased Antarctic Ice Sheet Melt Could Cause 40% Slowdown of Deep Ocean Currents by 2050

Nature, 29 March 2023

Projected increases in Antarctic ice sheet melt, especially with high emissions, appear poised to drive a substantial slowdown of deep ocean currents in coming decades, potentially as early as 2050 should current emissions continue. This would cause deep and widespread warming of deep ocean waters, and a 40% slowdown of overturning circulation by that date. The authors write that such changes “would profoundly alter the ocean overturning of heat, fresh water, oxygen, carbon and nutrients, with impacts felt throughout the global oceans for centuries to come.”

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-05762-w

Pam Pearson

Recent Posts

SB64 Side Event on Cryosphere and Overshoot: Implications of Peak CO2 and Temperature for Global Cryosphere

Monday June 8th, 16:30-17:45 CEST in Room Kaminzimmer, World Conference Center (WCC), Bonn Dear Cryosphere…

1 week ago

Seasonal Glacier Water Supply Becoming Less Reliable for Cities in Asia

Nature Communications, 15 May 2026 Glaciers and snowpack currently help reduce water shortages for many…

2 weeks ago

Increasingly Unpredictable River Floods in Indus River Basin

Communications Earth & Environment, 14 May 2026 River floods in the upper Indus basin are…

2 weeks ago

Thawing Permafrost Increases Flood and Landslide Risks in the Western Himalaya

NPJ Natural Hazards, 8 May 2026 Rapid warming increases permafrost thaw and the risk of…

2 weeks ago

Impact of 2022 Heatwave and 2023 Extreme Summer Snowfall on the Western Himalaya

Scientific Reports, 29 April 2026 Extreme weather events increasingly shape how Himalayan glaciers gain and…

2 weeks ago

Glacier Retreat Increases Likelihood of Landslides and Tsunamis

Science, 6 May 2026 An August 2025 landslide in Tracy Arm fjord, Alaska, generated one…

3 weeks ago