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Gulf Stream System Weakening

The Gulf Stream System, also known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) — the major ocean current responsible for circulation in the Atlantic and certain global weather patterns — has weakened by 15 percent in recent decades. This is likely due to an influx of cool freshwater from melting ice sheets that reduces ocean salinity and thus the density of the water, which inhibits the sinking, thus weakening the flow of the Gulf Stream System.

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