Robert SanscartierAccording to the paper, aerosols act like a temporary sunshade that reduces how much sunlight reaches the ocean. When this pollution is cleaned up, the extra sunlight warms the North Atlantic, disrupting the temperature balance needed to keep the conveyor belt moving. "Aerosol perturbations that feature larger positive North Atlantic ERF are associated with larger AMOC weakening," continued the scientists
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-climate-air-pollution-key-atlantic.html
Climate catch-22: Cleaning up air pollution could speed key Atlantic current decline
It may sound counterintuitive, but new research suggests that cleaning up air pollution could contribute to a weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). This is the ocean current system that acts like a giant conveyor belt, moving warm surface water northward and cool deep water southward.