I usually spend about 10 ~ 20 minutes every morning for literature review before I start my daily routine. Sometimes, a paper looks very interesting, but requires me to spend more than 10 to 15 mins to be able to understand the main takeaway. This is particularly true for those papers with long abstracts and with significant technical details. So, if I have three papers to read on a given day, I will have to spend more than 30 mins to be able to understand them properly.
To save time for my morning literature review, I wanted to create audio summaries of those papers, so that I could listen to them during my 30 min morning walk. I understood NotebookLM to be an ideal tool for generating an audio summary in podcast format. So, I tested NotebookLM with a new paper “Evaluation of a reduced RAPID array for measuring the AMOC” by Petit et al. (2025, JGR). Here is an audio summary of the paper:
NotebookLM generated a video summary as well. But, I could not upload it directly to this blog page. You can take a look at it from my Google drive (link).
Here is an audio summary of another paper “On the Genesis of the 2021 Atlantic Niño” by Lee et al. (2023, GRL):
A video summary of this paper can be found here (link).
I found these audio summaries in podcast format to be very effective for both general audiences and scientists. One feature that I like is “interactive mode”. While I listen to an audio summary, I can pause the audio and then ask a question. The virtual pod-casters take my question and attempt to answer it based only on the documents I provided to NotebookLM. Great job, Google!
Petit, T., Smeed, D., Blaker, A., Elipot, S., Johns, W., Kajtar, J. B., et al. (2025). Evaluation of a reduced RAPID array for measuring the AMOC. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 130, e2025JC023093. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JC023093
Lee, S.-K., Lopez, H., Tuchen, F. P., Kim, D., Foltz, G. R., & Wittenberg, A. T. (2023). On the genesis of the 2021 Atlantic Niño. Geophysical Research Letters, 50, e2023GL104452. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL104452
P.S. NotebookLM can do much more. For instance, it can generate a cool blog post. See below.
A Surprise Culprit: How the Pacific’s Playbook Triggered a Record Atlantic Climate Event
Introduction: The Little Brother’s Record-Breaking Year
In the world of climate patterns, the Pacific’s El Niño is a global superstar, known for its powerful influence on weather worldwide. But it has a lesser-known counterpart in the Atlantic Ocean, often called “El Niño’s little brother”: the Atlantic Niño. This regional pattern of sea surface warming has its own significant impacts, particularly on rainfall in West Africa.
In the summer of 2021, this “little brother” had a massive growth spurt. It produced the most extreme warming event ever recorded since global satellite measurements began in the early 1970s. The consequences were immediate and severe, with heavy rainfall and widespread flooding reported in countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea. This extreme warming may also have contributed to the highly active hurricane season of that year, potentially promoting the development of powerful hurricanes off the coast of West Africa.
This record-shattering event presented scientists with a rare opportunity to understand the forces that can drive the Atlantic Niño to such extremes. In investigating its origins, they uncovered a surprising culprit—a powerful atmospheric trigger well-known for kicking off El Niño events in the Pacific, but never before identified as a primary driver in the Atlantic.
A Climate Event That Smashed All Modern Records
The core fact is simple and stark: the 2021 Atlantic Niño was the most extreme of its kind in the modern satellite era. During its peak season from June to August, sea surface temperature anomalies in the eastern equatorial Atlantic surged, exceeding 1°C for the first time since detailed measurements began in the early 1970s. This unprecedented warming set the stage for major weather disruptions.
The Pacific’s Playbook Made a Surprise Atlantic Appearance
The study’s most significant discovery was identifying the direct trigger of the event. Scientists found that the record warming was initiated by an intense, week-long “westerly wind burst” (WWB) in the western and central equatorial Atlantic. This powerful burst of wind was, in turn, driven by a large-scale pattern of tropical thunderstorms that slowly moves eastward across the globe, known as the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO).
This finding was a major surprise. MJO-driven wind bursts are understood to be a primary mechanism for initiating El Niño events in the vast Pacific Ocean, but their role in the Atlantic was a mystery. This research marks the first time this direct link has been established.
MJO-driven WWBs are fundamental to the development of El Niño in the Pacific but are a previously unidentified driver for Atlantic Niño.
This discovery identifies a powerful, direct trigger for extreme Atlantic events that was previously thought to operate almost exclusively in the Pacific.
It Was a Two-Part Drama: The Setup and The Punch
The powerful wind burst didn’t act alone; the ocean was already primed for a major event. Scientists describe a two-step process that led to the record warming. First came the “setup.” In the months leading up to the event, a series of oceanic Rossby waves traveled westward across the Atlantic. Upon reaching the coast of South America, they reflected back toward Africa as “downwelling” equatorial Kelvin waves. These waves didn’t just pile up warm water; they deepened the layer of warm surface water, creating a vast reservoir of heat beneath the surface and preconditioning the ocean for a major disturbance.
Then came the “punch.” In early May 2021, the powerful, MJO-driven westerly wind burst arrived at the perfect moment. It violently pushed this pre-loaded warm water eastward across the surface, greatly amplifying one of the reflected Kelvin waves and officially kicking off the record-breaking Atlantic Niño. To make matters worse, a second, similar MJO-driven wind burst arrived in late June, reinforcing the warming and making the event even stronger.
The Usual Suspect Had a Solid Alibi
When major climate events occur, scientists often look for connections to other large-scale patterns. The 2021 Atlantic Niño followed a significant 2020–2021 La Niña event in the Pacific, making it a natural suspect. Typically, a La Niña event is expected to influence the Atlantic by creating a specific atmospheric pressure and trade wind pattern known as a negative Atlantic Meridional Mode, which can then trigger an Atlantic Niño.
However, when investigators looked for this well-known chain of events, they found it was dormant in 2021. The study found “no clear evidence” that the La Niña had a significant influence, at least not through any of the well-understood atmospheric pathways. This finding makes the discovery of the MJO’s direct role even more important, as it points to a completely different mechanism for generating extreme Atlantic events.
Conclusion: A New Clue for Predicting Extreme Weather
The discovery that the Madden-Julian Oscillation can directly trigger an extreme Atlantic Niño fundamentally changes our understanding of the Atlantic climate system. It reveals that the playbook for creating a Pacific El Niño can, under the right conditions, be run in the Atlantic, with dramatic consequences.
This new knowledge has practical implications. The study suggests that tracking the MJO’s activity in the Atlantic could improve forecasts and serve as a useful precursor for future Atlantic Niño events. Better forecasting could give vulnerable regions critical time to prepare for potential flooding, disruptions to agriculture, and a more active hurricane season.
As our climate continues to change, what other hidden connections between our planet’s great ocean basins are waiting to be discovered?
Ocean to Climate 
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