Scientists Say Huge Dam Blocking the Bering Strait Could Slow Effects of Climate Change

Rising ocean temperatures threaten the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, a loop that moves warm water north and colder water south, shaping global weather. Continued warming could lead to AMOC collapse, which would cool Europe, disrupt tropical rainfall, and raise sea levels along the US east coast. Two researchers propose a large dam across the Bering Strait to prevent fresh water from the Arctic entering the Atlantic. They focus on the strait because it acts as a choke point for water feeding AMOC. Computer simulations indicate that blocking this fresh-water flow could keep the Atlantic saltier and help stabilize AMOC broadly. The proposal is framed as a proof of concept and a possible worst-case measure.

"Sea levels are just the start of how climate change will upend the ocean. Rising temperatures are also threatening a critical artery that runs through the ocean known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC. This current, in short, sends warm water northwards and dumps colder water southwards in a giant loop, massively influencing the world's weather systems along the way."

"If temperatures keep soaring, scientists fear that AMOC could collapse - and with it, climate patterns across the globe. Temperatures in Europe would plunge without the injection of warm water it brings. Rainfall in the tropics would be disrupted. And sea levels on the US east coast would rise."

"In their research, Soons and his colleague Henk A. Dijkstra focused on the Bering Strait because it's through this choke point that AMOC pumps fresh water from the Pacific, then into the Arctic Ocean, and then finally into the Atlantic. Their view of the strait's importance was buoyed by another study that found that AMOC was stronger three million years ago when the Bering Strait was a land bridge, forming a natural dam of sorts."

"Running computer simulations, they found that a dam today would stymy the flow of fresh water from the Arctic Ocean into the Atlantic. That would keep the Atlantic salty, stabilizing the flow across the AMOC broadly."

Read at Futurism