Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Norwegian Atlantic Ocean Current Branch of AMOC is Changing: Carrying More Heat to High Arctic
The Northeast Branch of the AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation) ocean current system that is vital to the climate workings of our planet is misbehaving, with serious ramifications.
This ocean current, called the Norwegian Arctic Water, was studied in detail with data over a 30 year period.
The main findings of this new peer-reviewed scientific study are that:
- the current loses heat to the atmosphere at a much slower rate than before, namely at 0.11 to 0.13 C per decade.
- since the air above the ocean current is warming at a much faster rate than the water is warming, due to the huge heat capacity of water versus that of air, this means that less heat, in fact about 3% less heat per decade is going from the ocean current to the atmosphere. Thus, more heat is getting up into the Arctic
- the volume flow rate (Sverdrup, which is one million cubic meters per second) is only slightly lower, but the velocity of the ocean current has more than doubled over the 30 year time period of the study. Thus, the cross-sectional area of the current has more than halved in area. While the water in the current used to take 9 to 12 months to travel far north, it now takes only 3 to 6 months. Since it moves faster, there is less time for heat to move from the ocean to the atmosphere, so more heat is carried into the high Arctic
- lateral (horizontal) changes in the ocean current, namely vortices forming and splitting off the main current would carry heat away, but they were not observed to have changed.
References
Jan Umstonst post: facebook.com/share/p/187nyvfxab
Ocean to Climate blog on this phenomena:
A Highway of Heat to the Arctic: Why a Vital Ocean Current Is Losing Its Chill
ocean2climate.org/2026/01/05/a-highway-of-heat-to-the-arctic-why-a-vital-ocean-current-is-losing-its-chill/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPJZk1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFVR1VPc0prQlBhY3dSNUQ4c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHjMuG8fRMwr9a4szXMKNZY6DFBbt5TZptxU1RNLEmd1R0bMD9VuJiX7PZmrX_aem_QYLeact2BmJiIgSM9ojvcw
Diagram of the AMOC, where you can see the Norwegian Atlantic Water Current Branch: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_meridional_overturning_circulation#/media/File:OCP07_Fig-6.jpg
Heat capacity difference between water and air: researchgate.net/figure/density-and-specific-heat-of-each-material_tbl2_292211870
New Peer-Reviewed paper in scientific journal Ocean Science, published January 5, 2026 (hot off the presses):
Reduced cooling in the Norwegian Atlantic Slope Current: investigating mechanisms of change from 30 years of observations
Direct link to open-source paper: os.copernicus.org/articles/22/17/2026/os-22-17-2026.pdf
Abstract.
The Norwegian Atlantic Current (NwAC) is a principal conduit for poleward heat and salt transport within the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and plays a key role of water mass transformation in the Nordic Seas. Its variability exerts a critical influence on high latitude climate, Arctic Ocean inflows, and deep-water formation in the Nordic Seas. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of a 30-year (1993–2022) hydrographic dataset from four repeat sections across the NwAC, spanning from the southern Norwegian Sea (62.8° N) to Bjørnøya (74.5° N)....
Atlantic Water (AW) cools and freshens during its journey along the Norwegian coast, but our analysis shows that north of Lofoten (69° N), the cooling has reduced by 0.11–0.13 °C per decade. We examine three potential drivers of this reduced cooling: (1) decreased air-sea heat fluxes, (2) reduced lateral heat loss due to decreasing eddy-activity, and (3) increased advection speed within the current core. We find no evidence for any changes in eddy kinetic energy, but both increased advection speed and reduced air-sea heat loss may contribute to the observed decline in cooling.
Happy New Year to you and yours...
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Hello! I wanted to share something important with you. Paul Beckwith is doing incredible work to educate people about climate change and extreme weather, but he needs our support to continue this vital mission. Every donation, no matter the size, can make a difference in helping him reach more communities. Please consider clicking the link below to donate or share it with others who care about our planet. Thank you!
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Please donate to PaulBeckwith.net to support my research and videos connecting the dots on abrupt climate system mayhem.
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The Norwegian Atlantic Ocean Current Branch of AMOC is Changing: Carrying More Heat to High Arctic
The Northeast Branch of the AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation) ocean current system that is vital to the climate workings of our planet is misbehaving, with serious ramifications.
This ocean current, called the Norwegian Arctic Water, was studied in detail with data over a 30 year period.
The main findings of this new peer-reviewed scientific study are that:
- the current loses heat to the atmosphere at a much slower rate than before, namely at 0.11 to 0.13 C per decade.
- since the air above the ocean current is warming at a much faster rate than the water is warming, due to the huge heat capacity of water versus that of air, this means that less heat, in fact about 3% less heat per decade is going from the ocean current to the atmosphere. Thus, more heat is getting up into the Arctic
- the volume flow rate (Sverdrup, which is one million cubic meters per second) is only slightly lower, but the velocity of the ocean current has more than doubled over the 30 year time period of the study. Thus, the cross-sectional area of the current has more than halved in area. While the water in the current used to take 9 to 12 months to travel far north, it now takes only 3 to 6 months. Since it moves faster, there is less time for heat to move from the ocean to the atmosphere, so more heat is carried into the high Arctic
- lateral (horizontal) changes in the ocean current, namely vortices forming and splitting off the main current would carry heat away, but they were not observed to have changed.
References
Jan Umstonst post: facebook.com/share/p/187nyvfxab
Ocean to Climate blog on this phenomena:
A Highway of Heat to the Arctic: Why a Vital Ocean Current Is Losing Its Chill
ocean2climate.org/2026/01/05/a-highway-of-heat-to-the-arctic-why-a-vital-ocean-current-is-losing-its-chill/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPJZk1leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFVR1VPc0prQlBhY3dSNUQ4c3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHjMuG8fRMwr9a4szXMKNZY6DFBbt5TZptxU1RNLEmd1R0bMD9VuJiX7PZmrX_aem_QYLeact2BmJiIgSM9ojvcw
Diagram of the AMOC, where you can see the Norwegian Atlantic Water Current Branch: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_meridional_overturning_circulation#/media/File:OCP07_Fig-6.jpg
Heat capacity difference between water and air: researchgate.net/figure/density-and-specific-heat-of-each-material_tbl2_292211870
New Peer-Reviewed paper in scientific journal Ocean Science, published January 5, 2026 (hot off the presses):
Reduced cooling in the Norwegian Atlantic Slope Current: investigating mechanisms of change from 30 years of observations
Direct link to open-source paper: os.copernicus.org/articles/22/17/2026/os-22-17-2026.pdf
Abstract.
The Norwegian Atlantic Current (NwAC) is a principal conduit for poleward heat and salt transport within the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and plays a key role of water mass transformation in the Nordic Seas. Its variability exerts a critical influence on high latitude climate, Arctic Ocean inflows, and deep-water formation in the Nordic Seas. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of a 30-year (1993–2022) hydrographic dataset from four repeat sections across the NwAC, spanning from the southern Norwegian Sea (62.8° N) to Bjørnøya (74.5° N)....
Atlantic Water (AW) cools and freshens during its journey along the Norwegian coast, but our analysis shows that north of Lofoten (69° N), the cooling has reduced by 0.11–0.13 °C per decade. We examine three potential drivers of this reduced cooling: (1) decreased air-sea heat fluxes, (2) reduced lateral heat loss due to decreasing eddy-activity, and (3) increased advection speed within the current core. We find no evidence for any changes in eddy kinetic energy, but both increased advection speed and reduced air-sea heat loss may contribute to the observed decline in cooling.
Happy New Year to you and yours...
From my friend Heidi:
Hello! I wanted to share something important with you. Paul Beckwith is doing incredible work to educate people about climate change and extreme weather, but he needs our support to continue this vital mission. Every donation, no matter the size, can make a difference in helping him reach more communities. Please consider clicking the link below to donate or share it with others who care about our planet. Thank you!
Year end - Year start GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-paul-...
Please donate to PaulBeckwith.net to support my research and videos connecting the dots on abrupt climate system mayhem.
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel. As well as my website, and YouTube, you can find me on Patreon, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit (multiple climate channels within), Quora, TikTok, Discord, Mastodon, Twitch, Vimeo, Bluesky, TruthSocial, Threads, Substack, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc...
