DERRY JOURNAL Editorial: Alarming gulf stream research should make us all take notice

Derry and Donegal has the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation – a key component of which is the Gulf Stream – to thank for the temperate climate we enjoy despite a latitude shared with Chumikan in Siberia and Makkovik, Newfoundland.

The Gulf Stream draws warm ocean water from the Caribbean, keeping us relatively warm for our position.

But a new paper by Peter Ditlevsen and Susanne Ditlevsen from the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen has concluded the AMOC could collapse by mid-century under the current emissions trajectory.

Their thesis follows findings by scientists from the ICARUS Climate Research Centre at Maynooth, of an unprecedented slowdown in the AMOC in the 20th century that was likely linked to human-caused climate change.

That 2021 study suggested the Gulf Stream system would weaken further, by 34-45% by 2100, if warming continued. Ditlevsen and Ditlevsen warn of a tipping point and collapse anywhere between 2025 and 2100.

If they are right our climate will alter significantly and we could experience temperature ranges similar to Iceland and Canada with major repercussions for flora, fauna, fisheries, food, eco-systems and public health.

It is something that needs to be treated as a matter of utmost urgency by all of us.

Mid-century is only as far from today as the era of Ahern and Blair, Oasis, Boyzone and the Spice Girls. It will be upon us in the blink of an eye.

It’s nearly Christmas and there are still blackberries on the brambles