Jump-Salting the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, helps keep Europe relatively warm by transporting heat northward. This circulation depends on salt-driven feedback, and past climate records show that large bursts of fresh meltwater from glaciers have disrupted it. Some simple climate models reproduce this kind of shutdown, while many modern models do not, leaving scientists uncertain about how likely an AMOC “tipping point” is today. Because both the real and perceived risks are significant, it is important to understand whether an intervention could stop or reverse a collapse if one were to occur.

This project will examine whether adding salt to the North Atlantic could help maintain or restart the AMOC. Using an existing ocean model configuration that can simulate both active and collapsed states of the circulation, the team will first map out how the AMOC in the model responds to freshwater forcing. They will then run experiments to determine how much salt is required to restart the circulation after a shutdown, and whether smaller additions introduced earlier could prevent a collapse.

In parallel, the team will assess the real-world feasibility of adding salt to the North Atlantic, including potential methods for distributing salt across the ocean at large scales. They will also weigh the estimated costs of such an intervention against the economic damages expected from an AMOC shutdown.

This work will provide the first integrated scientific and logistical assessment of whether salt could be used to prevent or reverse an AMOC collapse.