Scientists model 51-mile Bering Strait dam to prevent AMOC collapse
Updated
Updated · Livescience.com · Apr 24
Scientists model 51-mile Bering Strait dam to prevent AMOC collapse
6 articles · Updated · Livescience.com · Apr 24
Researchers Jelle Soons and Henk Dijkstra simulated three dams spanning 51 miles between Russia and Alaska, with the longest section at 24 miles and depths up to 194 feet.
Their study finds that closing the Bering Strait could strengthen the AMOC under certain carbon emission scenarios, but may accelerate weakening if the AMOC is already fragile, highlighting uncertain and variable outcomes.
Experts warn the dam could disrupt marine ecosystems, shipping, and Indigenous communities, and emphasize that cutting greenhouse gas emissions remains the most reliable way to reduce AMOC collapse risk.
What unforeseen ecological disasters could be unleashed by walling off the Pacific from the Arctic Ocean?
In an era of strategic competition, could the US and Russia cooperate on a world-saving dam project?
If built too late, could this dam accelerate the very climate collapse it was designed to prevent?
How would damming the Bering Strait impact Indigenous communities and the future of Arctic shipping?
Who governs a planet-altering structure built in contested waters between two global rivals?