Climate Tipping Points: The Gulf Stream and the AMOC | Weathered

Host Maiya May meets with experts to define and discuss climate tipping points. She visits Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to explore how warming temperatures are disrupting the Gulf Stream and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, two of Earth’s critical ocean currents.

Students will learn about climate tipping points as well as the systems that govern major atmospheric and oceanic currents. They will witness scientific observations and analyses of ocean temperatures and sea level rise, and gain a better understanding of Earth’s climate systems through data-rich animations and the latest scientific consensus.

Through engagement activities, students will practice their systems thinking skills to recognize how regional changes can have a global impact, and how choices now can create a better future for generations to come. 

About the Author:

Merek Chang is a high school science teacher in Hacienda La Puente Unified School District in Southern California. He received his B.S from UC Davis and an M.A in education from San Diego State University. He is a KQED Media Literacy Innovator and is passionate about uplifting student voices and connecting the community to the classroom through the lens of environmental literacy and civic engagement.