"Why the AMOC Could Be Far More Unstable Than We Imagined"

Discover the Mystery of the North Atlantic Cold Blob: Could It Signal an AMOC Collapse?

In the North Atlantic lies a peculiar cold blob that might hint at a looming threat—the potential collapse of the AMOC, Earth’s most significant heat transfer system. But the collapse of the AMOC remains a highly debated topic among scientists. Climate models provide conflicting results, and there isn’t sufficient observational data to confirm a clear trend. To uncover answers, we turn to the Earth’s past.

In this episode of Weathered, host Maiya May speaks with three paleoclimate experts who study the planet’s ancient climate to reveal surprising insights into the AMOC’s history. Their findings suggest that the mysterious cold blob might be a far bigger concern than previously thought.

Weathered is a series by Balance Media that explores natural disasters, their causes, how they’re evolving, and how we can prepare for them.

Featured Research

Christo Buizert’s Paper: Read Here

Mohamed Ezat’s Paper: Read Here


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Special thanks to OSU footage by Saskia Madlener.

AMOC, Ocean, Ocean Current, Cold Blob, Warming Hole, Paleoclimate, Greenland, Ice, Cave, Stefan Rahmstorf, Tipping Point, Europe, Monsoons, Asia, Tropics, Global Warming, Sea Level Rise, Natural Disasters, Flooding, Weather, Extreme Weather, Weathered, Maiya May, Nature Op, Science, Climate Science, Meteorology, Prepping, NOAA, Computer Modeling, NASA, Earth Science, Ice Age, Interglacial, Climate Change, History
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There is a mysterious cold blob in the North Atlantic that could be a warning sign that the largest heat transfer system on the planet, the AMOC, is on the brink of collapse. But it turns out that the AMOC’s collapse is a highly debated topic among scientists – climate models are inconsistent and there isn’t enough observational data to determine a trend. So, perhaps the answer to understand a possible AMOC collapse is to go back in time.

In this episode, we talk to three paleoclimate experts who look at the Earth’s past climate and find some really shocking things about the AMOC’s past behavior. And it turns out that the mysterious cold blob may actually be a bigger deal than we realize…

Weathered is a show hosted by weather expert Maiya May and produced by Balance Media that helps explain the most common natural disasters, what causes them, how they’re changing, and what we can do to prepare.

OSU footage by Saskia Madlener

Christo Buizert’s Paper: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/...
Mohamed Ezat’s Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s4146...
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