A large-scale and delicate system of ocean currents that's been active for millions of years

and that's responsible for a warm climate is in danger of collapse.

This is according to a new study published earlier this month in the journal Science Advances.

If that collapse actually happens, scientists warn the consequences could be dire.

Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Thursday, April 23, 26.

Joining me to discuss new research indicating that the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation,

known as the AMOC, may be weakening faster than previously understood, is Shane Ellipo,

a physical oceanographer in the Department of Ocean Sciences at the University of Miami,

an author of the study. It's good to have you here, Shane.

Thank you very much for having.

First, to help me understand the importance of this complex system and how it functions,

what is the Atlantic-Miradonal overturning circulation, and how does it work?

Yeah, so the AMOC is an acronym that we use, and it describes a system of currents that we can

observe and we can see throughout the entire North Atlantic.

In broad terms, what it does is that you have about a very, the top thousand meter of the ocean

is actually flowing northward throughout the North Atlantic.

And as it reached the northern end of the Atlantic Ocean, the water becomes cooler and denser

and sinks eventually to greater depth. And then it returns back south. So this type of ocean currents,

we call this a circulation.

And sometimes in simplistic terms, it is described as a conveyor belt of ocean currents.

Can you share more about what led you to the study and give an overview of the data you

gathered?

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