New article in Nature explores North Atlantic cooling and implications for AMOC research

A new article, “Atlantic Exceptionalism in the Twentieth Century”, by Gerard McCarthy and Hans-Otto Pörtner, offers fresh insights into one of the most intriguing anomalies in the climate system: the persistent cooling observed in the subpolar North Atlantic, despite overall global warming. Often referred to as the “warming hole” or “cold blob”, this phenomenon continues to challenge scientific understanding of regional climate dynamics.

Building on the influential 2015 study by Stefan Rahmstorf and colleagues, the article revisits the hypothesis that this cooling may be linked to a weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). The authors highlight both the importance of this ocean circulation system, which plays a key role in redistributing heat and moderating Europe’s climate, and the significant uncertainties that remain in understanding its variability and long-term evolution.

The publication contributes to ongoing discussions within the AMOC in Focus initiative, a joint effort of JPI Climate and JPI Oceans. Bringing together leading experts from Europe, Canada and the United States, the initiative aims to deliver a policy-relevant synthesis of the latest scientific knowledge on the Atlantic Ocean’s circulation system, with a comprehensive assessment report expected in early 2027.

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