Critical Ocean System Could Collapse Due to Climate Change, , Study Finds. The study was conducted by scientists with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, . and was published in the journal 'Nature and Climate Change' on Aug. 5. Its findings indicate that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) could be at risk for collapse. The AMOC regulates the stability of the Atlantic Ocean by acting as a temperature conveyor belt, . moving warmer waters to colder regions and colder waters to warmer regions. The collapse of this vital system would have a monumental effect on regions including Western Europe, . North and South America. Western Africa and India. Researchers say that the AMOC is the weakest it's been in 1,000 years. This most recent study links the AMOC's instability directly to human-caused climate change. Every gram of extra greenhouse gas in the atmosphere will increase to the probability of an AMOC collapse in the future, .., Niklas Boers, Study Author, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, via CNN. ... so emitting as little as possible, both on individual but of course also on collective and international level, is the key, Niklas Boers, Study Author, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, via CNN. The AMOC has moved toward the critical threshold at which it may collapse, Niklas Boers, Study Author, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, via CNN. The research was published just days before the U.N.'s International Panel on Climate Change is set to release findings of its own major study on Aug. 9.