Climate change (warming atmosphere-melting of the Arctic Sea ice) may shut down an ocean
current that carries warmth to the North Atlantic Ocean. The current known as the Atlantic
Meridional Overturning Current (AMOC) aka The Great Ocean Conveyor is a major player in
the global climate system. There are signs in the paleoclimate record indicating the AMOC has
shut down for decades following mass melting of ice sheets. Global circulation climate models
suggest the freshening of North Atlantic Ocean waters would likely only weaken the current;
however, new research by Wei Liu at Yale University (2017) suggests previous models may have
actually overestimated the stability of the AMOC. (Becker, R. 2017; The Verge
