LADBIBLE - Scientists are concerned about a patch of unusually cold water in the North Atlantic Ocean, referred to as the 'cold blob' or 'warming hole'.
While a particularly powerful El Niño is on the horizon, this patch of ocean near Greenland has cooled by about 1°C over the past few decades.
A new study has now linked the cold blob to a weakening Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), a major system of ocean currents that carries warm water from the tropics towards Europe. This system helps regulate weather and temperatures around the world.
The slowdown may be caused by melting ice from Greenland, because as fresh water flows into the ocean, it essentially reduces the saltiness of the water, making it harder for the AMOC to operate as it normally does.
This weakens the flow of warm water and contributes to the cold blob.
“People have been asking why this cold spot exists,” said University of California Riverside climate scientist Wei Liu, who led the study with doctoral student Kai-Yuan Li.