unconventional geoengineering idea: could a Bering Strait dam avert AMOC collapse?
A new Science Advances study models building three dams across the 51-mile Bering Strait to see if closing the passage could strengthen the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and delay its collapse under warming. Results suggest that under lower CO2 and a mildly weakened AMOC, closure could help maintain AMOC, but with a much weaker AMOC it could accelerate decline; the plan would disrupt wildlife, Indigenous communities, fisheries, and shipping, and outcomes are highly uncertain, necessitating more modeling. Regardless, experts say reducing greenhouse gas emissions remains the most reliable way to protect AMOC.