A crucial ocean current has divided scientists, leaving them puzzled about its actual behavior and implications.

Recently, scientists have increasingly pointed out that the key currents of the Atlantic Ocean, also known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), may weaken in the coming decades. The primary cause is attributed to climate change driven by human activity, as reported by Live Science.

Most experts agree that AMOC may slow down in the future, but researchers continue to debate whether the Atlantic Ocean currents have already slowed. A new study now indicates that the Atlantic circulation has remained stable since the 1960s—suggesting that the system may be more resilient to warming than previously thought.

However, some scientists find the results of the new analysis to be contradictory. Previous studies have shown ambiguous results, with some indicating that AMOC is currently weaker than it has been in the last millennium. At the same time, other research has found almost no evidence that the strength of the current is decreasing. According to climate researcher Maya Ben-Yami from the Technical University of Munich in Germany, the question of AMOC's weakening remains unresolved.

It is important to note that AMOC is a system of currents in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf Stream, which circulates in a massive loop from Antarctica to Greenland. It is known that AMOC transports heat to the Northern Hemisphere, and its weakening could lead to significant cooling in Northern Europe and drastic weather disruptions worldwide.

Direct observations of AMOC's strength have only been conducted since 2004. Therefore, to measure long-term trends in Atlantic circulation, researchers rely on climate parameters or "fingerprints" that they believe are associated with AMOC. These include sea surface temperature, salinity, sea surface height, water density, and sediment data. According to Ben-Yami, scientists remain uncertain about AMOC's weakening because all these different fingerprints may yield varying results.

At the same time, the findings of the new study suggest that AMOC has not actually weakened over the last 60 years. However, experts have approached these conclusions with skepticism. According to professor and oceanographer Stefan Rahmstorf, who is one of the leaders of the Earth System Analysis research department at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, numerous factors can influence the transfer of heat from the ocean to the atmosphere.

Heat loss at the surface also depends intricately on air temperature, wind speed, humidity, radiation, and cloud cover, all of which are not precisely known. Another issue is that the latest climate models may not be ideally suited for this type of analysis due to their sensitivity and inability to replicate certain past oceanic events.

Nevertheless, there are experts who are less critical of the new work. For instance, according to David Thornalley, a professor of climatology and oceanography at University College London, AMOC may have significantly weakened in the past. His research, along with colleagues, showed that this occurred in the 1800s, followed by a period of stability in the 1900s. In simple terms, AMOC may indeed have remained stable over the last 60 years.