The Department of Applied Mathematics weekly seminar is given by scholars and researchers working in applied mathematics, broadly interpreted.
Title: Catastrophe Collapse of the Atlantic Overturning Circulation: Is it Eminent?
Abstract: Theory of catastrophe was a popular area of study for applied mathematicians a few decades ago, and then it fell out of fashion. Now it is brought back into the limelight by climate scientists, who are concerned with “tipping points” in climate under global warming. A major tipping point is thought to exist in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which includes the Gulf Stream. It transports massive amount of heat from the tropics to high northern latitudes. Global warming may inhibit sinking in its subpolar branch as warmer and fresher water is less dense, thus slowing the overturning. It is thought that its collapse would bring back the ice age, as dramatized in the movie “The Day After Tomorrow”. Are there Early Warning Signs to such a pending catastrophe? Some say yes, and that AMOC is already collapsing. We shall examine the theory and observational evidence in this talk.