After record heat, could the Atlantic make Britain's weather even more extreme?
Scientists are using robotic Argo floats to monitor the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) to determine if climate change is weakening this critical ocean current system. The research aims to understand how potential shifts in these currents could lead to more extreme weather patterns in the UK and beyond.
Why it matters
Understanding the stability of the AMOC is vital for predicting long-term climate risks and potential shifts in global weather systems.
After record heat, could the Atlantic make Britain's weather even more extreme?
By Justin Rowlatt Climate Editor Somewhere in the stormy waters off Greenland, a bright yellow robotic probe, known as an Argo float, is sinking silently beneath the waves.
It is roughly the size of a person, with a tough metal body and an array of sensors packed inside.
The float is part of a global effort to solve one of the great mysteries of the ocean: how its hidden movements help shape the climate above.
There is no crew, no one steering it. Instead, it drifts with the currents, measuring temperature, the amount of salt in the water and pressure as it moves through the waves.
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