Editing Antarctic Circumpolar Current (section)

== Studies ==
An expedition in May 2008 by 19 scientists<ref>{{Harvnb|O'Hara|Rowden|Williams|2008}}</ref> studied the geology and biology of eight [[Macquarie Fault Zone|Macquarie Ridge]] sea mounts, as well as the Antarctic Circumpolar Current to investigate the [[effects of climate change]] of the Southern Ocean. The circumpolar current merges the waters of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans and carries up to 150 times the volume of water flowing in all of the world's rivers. The study found that any damage on the cold-water corals nourished by the current will have a long-lasting effect.<ref name="brittlestar" /> After studying the circumpolar current it is clear that it strongly influences regional and global climate as well as underwater biodiversity.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rintoul|Hughes|Olbers|2001|loc=e.g. p. 271}}</ref> The subject has been characterized recently as "the spectral peak of the global extra-tropical circulation at ≈ 10^4 kilometers".<ref>Storer, B.A., Buzzicotti, M., Khatri, H. et al. Global energy spectrum of the general oceanic circulation. ''Nat Commun'' 13, 5314 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-33031-3. Retrieved 17 September 2022.</ref>

The current helps preserve wooden shipwrecks by preventing wood-boring "[[ship worms]]" from reaching targets such as [[Ernest Shackleton]]'s ship, the [[Endurance (1912 ship)|''Endurance'']].<ref>{{Harvnb|Glover|Wiklund|Taboada|Avila|2013}}</ref>

The "State of the Cryosphere" report found, that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current became weaker. By 2050 it expected to lose 20% of its strength with "widespread impacts on ocean circulation and climate." The [[Weddell Sea Bottom Water]] has lost 30% of its volume in the latest 32 years, and the [[Antarctic bottom water|Antarctic Bottom Water]] is expected to shrink. This will impact ocean circulation, nutrients, heat content and carbon sequestration.<ref>{{cite book |title=State of the Cryosphere 2024 Lost Ice, Global Damage |date=November 2024 |publisher=International Cryosphere Climate Initiative |pages=x (in the beginning), 8, 48, 52 |url=https://articles.unesco.org/sites/default/files/medias/fichiers/2024/11/State%20of%20the%20Cryosphere%20Report%202024.pdf |access-date=20 November 2024}}</ref> [[UNESCO]] mentions that the report in the first time "notes a growing scientific consensus that melting Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, among other factors, may be slowing important ocean currents at both poles, with potentially dire consequences for a much colder northern Europe and greater sea-level rise along the U.S. East Coast."<ref>{{cite web |title=State of the Cryosphere Report 2024 Lost Ice, Global Damage |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/state-cryosphere-report-2024 |website=UNESCO |access-date=20 November 2024}}</ref> The findings were bolstered by a 2025 study published in [[Environmental Research Letters]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sohail |first1=Taimoor |last2=Gayen |first2=Bishakhdatta |last3=Klocker |first3=Andreas |title=Decline of Antarctic Circumpolar Current due to polar ocean freshening |journal=Environmental Research Letters |date=3 March 2025 |volume=20 |issue=3 |page=034046 |doi=10.1088/1748-9326/adb31c |doi-access=free |bibcode=2025ERL....20c4046S }}</ref>