Impact Trust • Working glossary
Subpolar gyre (SPG) collapse
The potential collapse of deep-water convection in the North Atlantic subpolar region, a subset of the AMOC system. The SPG could fail sooner and faster than full AMOC collapse, with severe but more localised consequences.
Details
Our Take
Highly technical. Used as a case study for how resilience gaming works: model immediate impacts, use expert elicitation to map cascades, build a scenario story, and play through it in a workshop. The method matters more than the specific tipping point.
Examples of Use
Climate science, Laurie Laybourn / SCRI, tipping points research
Synonyms/Variants
AMOC sub-system failure; North Atlantic convection collapse
Typical everyday wording
A specific ocean collapse that could happen sooner than the bigger AMOC breakdown.
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