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# Planetary energy budget during abrupt glacial climate events set by Atlantic Ocean heat valve

## Details

**Authors** Buizert et al.

**Year** 2026

**Publisher** Nature Geoscience

**Discipline** Climatology

**Secondary disciplines** Oceanography

[Read it at the publisher](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-026-02070-6) 
10.1038/s41561-026-02070-6

## In authors' words

### What they found (results)

Combining ice-core records with climate models, the authors show that the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation acts as a 'heat valve' that sets the whole planet's net radiative energy budget during abrupt glacial climate swings, rather than merely redistributing heat between hemispheres.

## Commentary

### In short

A single subsystem (the AMOC) is shown to govern the behavior of the entire planetary system it sits within, and it does so by actively driving the planet's energy balance rather than merely correlating with it.

**Patterns it shows** S, R

**Added** 2026-08-16

**How to cite this** Buizert et al. (2026). Planetary energy budget during abrupt glacial climate events set by Atlantic Ocean heat valve. Nature Geoscience.