New discoveries reveal the origins of the most powerful current on Earth

Scientific result

6 March 2024

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is the largest ocean current on Earth, connecting the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. This current largely regulates the exchange of heat, moisture, carbon and nutrients between the Southern Ocean and other ocean basins, which in turn has a significant impact on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations and the global climate. Despite its pivotal role in global ocean circulation, climate dynamics and the stability of the Antarctic ice, when and how this current developed has been widely debated for almost forty years.

Read more on the CNRS Terre & Univers website

GET contact: Mathieu Benoit

Sources :

Evangelinos, D., Etourneau, J., van de Flierdt, T. et al. Late Miocene onset of the modern Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Nat. Geosci. 17, 165–170 (2024).

More news

How can uranium isotopes help trace the history of the Earth’s oxygenation?

A recent study reveals the existence of a uranium isotopic signature specific to oxygen-depleted environments. This discovery could help to better understand the history of the co-evolution between animal life […]

Uranium and thorium in coastal sediments in the central Gulf of Gabès (SE Tunisia): alarming contamination with environmental and health impacts

The central part of the Gulf of Gabès (SE Tunisia) is one of the most chemically and radioactively polluted sites in the Mediterranean, and indeed worldwide, due to massive discharges […]

In Chile, inhabitants and plants unite to reveal air pollution

Chile is one of the countries most affected by environmental pollution in South America. This is particularly true in the province of Chacabuco, north of the capital Santiago, where the […]

Search