British scientists from the University of Leeds found that the melting of the ice sheet about 8 thousand years ago triggered major climate changes. To work published In the scientific journal Quaternary Science Advances (QSA).
More than 8 thousand years ago, the North Atlantic and Northern Europe experienced significant cooling due to changes in the system of major ocean currents known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC.
Experts believed that disturbances in the AMOC were caused by the large influx of fresh water into the Atlantic seas, but they could not determine exactly where such an amount of liquid could come from. It was hypothesized that the water could come from the giant Black Sea-sized Lake Agassiz-Ojibwe, now located in Canada.
Geologists analyzed sediment samples from the Ethan River estuaries in Scotland to estimate sea level rise during this historical period. They concluded that the amount of water in the Agassiz-Ojibwe could not cause climate change on this scale. Scientists say the salty seas of the North Atlantic are diluting due to melting of the Hudson Bay icy ridge that covers much of eastern Canada and the northeastern United States.
The infusion of melt water caused the temperature in Europe to drop from 1.5 °C to 5 °C, and the cooling took approximately 200 years.
The authors of the study believe that a similar scenario could be repeated today due to the melting of the Greenland ice sheets.
Previous scientists I learnedThe melting of glaciers in the Arctic due to climate change leads to emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane.
Source: Gazeta
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