METRO UK - The science of climate change is complex, but the overall effect is pretty simple – the planet is getting warmer.
Except, however, for a cool ‘blob’ just southeast of Greenland that no one has ever been able to properly explain.
The blob, also called the ‘warming hole’, is a large patch of the North Atlantic that has cooled by as much as 1°C over the last few decades.
Now scientists think they know what’s behind the blob: the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a tangle of currents.
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As Atlantic currents are powered by wind, salinity and heat, some suggest that the blob is created by strong winds that could be forcing more evaporation, sucking heat from the ocean.
With more water in the air, more clouds are forming above, blocking out the sun above the oceans below Greenland.
But University of California Riverside climate scientist Wei Liu, who led the study, found that the cold blob is 1,000 metres deep, suggesting the ocean is the biggest factor.