{"id":34047,"date":"2026-07-02T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/?p=34047"},"modified":"2026-07-02T08:52:07","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T13:52:07","slug":"it-all-began-with-an-extremely-salty-current-flowing-every-day-from-the-mediterranean-now-a-ship-is-traversing-the-ocean-to-investigate-the-atlantics-great-climate-engine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/it-all-began-with-an-extremely-salty-current-flowing-every-day-from-the-mediterranean-now-a-ship-is-traversing-the-ocean-to-investigate-the-atlantics-great-climate-engine\/34047\/","title":{"rendered":"It all began with an extremely salty current flowing every day from the Mediterranean; now, a ship is traversing the ocean to investigate the Atlantic\u2019s great climate engine\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A new oceanographic campaign is heading into the Atlantic to study a climate question hiding in plain sight. From June 22 to July 7, the MORIA 2 expedition will follow warm, extra-salty water that escapes the Mediterranean and enters the Atlantic, where it may influence a powerful ocean circulation system tied to weather around the world<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That system is the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation<\/a>, better known as AMOC. Scientists want to know whether changes in Mediterranean Outflow Water could help push AMOC toward dangerous weakening, or whether this salty flow still helps keep part of the Atlantic engine running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A current that helps steer climate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AMOC is not a single river in the sea. It is a broad system of currents that moves warm water north through the Atlantic and sends colder deep water back south, while also carrying nutrients that support ocean life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The process is slow, but its reach is huge. NOAA describes AMOC as part of the ocean’s larger “global conveyor belt,” and the National Oceanography Centre<\/a> notes that it helps regulate climate by moving heat toward colder latitudes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Mediterranean water matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Mediterranean is connected to the Atlantic through the Strait of Gibraltar, where a steady stream of warmer, saltier water flows outward. It may look like a regional detail, but ocean circulation<\/a> often turns on details like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saltier water is denser, and denser water can help ocean water sink, one of the basic movements that keeps overturning circulation going. In practical terms, a change in this Mediterranean contribution could affect how the North Atlantic mixes and moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The

The Sarmiento de Gamboa research vessel supported the MORIA project, helping scientists investigate how Mediterranean Outflow Water influences the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and global climate.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The route of MORIA 2<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The expedition will sail aboard the Od\u00f3n de Buen from Vigo, Spain, to Reykjav\u00edk, Iceland. Along the way, researchers will examine waters near Ireland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Iceland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The work is led from the University of Barcelona by Leopoldo Pena and Isabel Cacho, with Jaime Frigola and Galderic Lastras in the Marine Geosciences Research Group. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other partners include the Institute of Marine Sciences, the Spanish Institute of Oceanography in Vigo, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Marine Research Institute, the Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences, and University College Cork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Picking up from MORIA 1<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

MORIA 2 is not starting from scratch. It continues MORIA 1, a 2025 campaign aboard the oceanographic vessel Sarmiento de Gamboa that covered the Bay of Biscay and the margin of the Iberian Peninsula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The first cruise could not complete the full route because of bad weather. That is why the new campaign is headed farther north, toward the Irish margin and the waters around northern Europe. According to Pena and Frigola, MORIA 2 “picks up exactly where MORIA 1 was unable to reach.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surprises under the surface<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The urgency comes partly from what MORIA 1 already found. The first results suggested unexpected routes for the export of Mediterranean water toward higher latitudes<\/a>, raising new questions about how this salty flow moves through the Atlantic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For oceanographers, that is not a small mapping problem. It is more like realizing that a road you thought you knew may have hidden exits and side streets. When the road carries heat and salt, those details can matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reading the ocean\u2019s chemical fingerprints<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During the cruise, the team will study the water using chemical tracers, physical measurements, and other tools. These tracers work like fingerprints, helping researchers identify where a water mass came from and how it changed along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The expedition will also collect sediment from the seafloor. Mud may not sound exciting, but layer after layer can preserve clues about past ocean conditions, much like pages in a weathered notebook. The Laboratory of Radiogenic and Environmental Isotopes<\/a> will help analyze those samples and estimate how much Mediterranean water has moved north.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The past may hold a warning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is not the first time researchers have looked to Mediterranean water for clues about Atlantic circulation. A 2023 study<\/a> linked to the same research line found that about 13,000 years ago, during a sharp climate event called the Younger Dryas, the flow of water from the eastern Mediterranean to the Atlantic was about twice its present level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That study does not offer a simple copy of the future. Today\u2019s warming is different, driven by greenhouse gases, melting ice<\/a>, and a changing water cycle. Still, it shows why scientists are careful not to treat the Mediterranean as a side note in the story of the Atlantic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The collapse question<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So, is AMOC about to collapse? The honest answer is more careful than the headline version. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change<\/a> says AMOC is very likely to weaken this century, but there is uncertainty about timing and size, and medium confidence that an abrupt collapse will not happen before 2100.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read More: The enormous mass of warm water in the Pacific that has just \u201cwoken up\u201d and could influence storms, wildfires, monsoons, and temperatures through 2027<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

That nuance matters. A weaker AMOC could still influence weather patterns<\/a>, sea level, rainfall, and marine ecosystems, even without a sudden shutdown. The trouble is, the ocean does not send alerts in simple language. Scientists have to read the signals before the story becomes obvious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why this cruise matters now<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

MORIA 2 is a field campaign, not a prophecy. Its job is to gather better data<\/a> about how Mediterranean Outflow Water moves north and how that movement may affect the Atlantic system in a warming climate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the day, the expedition is asking a practical question with global stakes. How much does a warm, salty current leaving the Mediterranean matter for the ocean engine that helps shape climate far beyond European coasts? The answer could make future climate projections more accurate and help researchers understand risks before they become everyday problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MORIA project runs from 2023 to 2027 and is part of Spain\u2019s research framework on climate, energy, and mobility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main press release has been published by the University of Barcelona<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new oceanographic campaign is heading into the Atlantic to study a climate question hiding in plain sight. From June … <\/p>\n

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