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The disaster movie “The Day After Tomorrow” was based on long term scientific concerns about global warming’s impact on the North Atlantic Current, also called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, - what most people think of as “The Gulf Stream” - although that is a simplification.

The movie was obviously over the top in terms of the projected impacts, but after a decade in which science has downplayed the possibility of such an event, a new paper shows that the circulation is indeed slowing down.

This could signal potential impacts on weather, the food chain, and circulation of oxygen and nutrients throughout the ocean.

I’ve been interviewing key authors of the paper, Lead author Stefan Rahmstorf, as well as paleoclimate expert Mike Mann, and Glaciologist Jason Box.

This is a paper that could have substantial impact, and might very well be distorted or sensationalized, - so bookmark this post as a damper for overhyped speculation, as well as a warning about real impacts.

More: A Nasty Surprise in the Greenhouse. New Paper, New Video.