The Coming Global Superstorm
Encyclopedia
The Coming Global Superstorm (ISBN 0-671-04190-8) is a 1999 book by Art Bell
and Whitley Strieber
which predicts that global warming
might produce sudden and catastrophic climatic
effects.
The book posits the following theory:
The book discusses a possible cause of the failure of the Gulf Stream: that the melting of the polar ice cap
s could drastically affect the salinity
of the North Atlantic drift by dumping a large quantity of freshwater into the world's oceans.
Bell and Strieber explain the possibility that such current destabilizations have occurred before, as well as seemingly impossible engineering feats by the ancients. Among their examples is the island city of Nan Madol
; the book claims that its construction, with exacting tolerances and extremely heavy basalt materials, necessitates a high degree of technical competency. Since no such society exists in the modern record - or, even, in legend - this society must have been destroyed by dramatic means. While other explanations beside a global meteorological event are possible, a correlating evidence set is presented in the woolly mammoth. Strieber and Bell assert that, since mammoths have been found preserved with food still in their mouths and undigested in their stomachs, these animals must have been killed quickly, in otherwise normal conditions, and been preserved so well by quick freezing. This is taken as evidence of a rapid onset of a global blizzard or similar event.
Interspersed with the analytical parts of the book are a series of interlinked short fictional scenarios, written in italics, describing what might transpire today, should a destabilization of the North Atlantic Current occur. These fictional accounts of "current events" as the meteorological situation deteriorates provided background and inspiration for the 2004 science-fiction film The Day After Tomorrow
and, indeed, some events from the book are portrayed in the film with little modification.
Art Bell
Arthur W. "Art" Bell, III is an American broadcaster and author, known primarily as one of the founders and the original host of the paranormal-themed radio program Coast to Coast AM. He also created and formerly hosted its companion show, Dreamland...
and Whitley Strieber
Whitley Strieber
Louis Whitley Strieber is an American writer best known for his horror novels The Wolfen and The Hunger and for Communion, a non-fiction account of his perceived experiences with non-human entities. Strieber also co-authored The Coming Global Superstorm with Art Bell, which inspired the film about...
which predicts that global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
might produce sudden and catastrophic climatic
Climate
Climate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and other meteorological elemental measurements in a given region over long periods...
effects.
The book posits the following theory:
- First, that the Gulf StreamGulf StreamThe Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean...
and North Atlantic driftNorth Atlantic DriftNorth Atlantic Drift is:* An ocean current that continues from the North Atlantic Current* An album by Ocean Colour Scene: North Atlantic Drift this doesn't make any goddamn sense....
generate a cordon of warm water around the North PoleNorth PoleThe North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
, which in turn holds in a frozen mass of Arctic air.
- Second, that if the North Atlantic drift were to shut down, that barrier would fail, releasing a flood of frozen air into the Northern HemisphereNorthern HemisphereThe Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
, causing a sudden and drastic temperature shift.
The book discusses a possible cause of the failure of the Gulf Stream: that the melting of the polar ice cap
Polar ice cap
A polar ice cap is a high latitude region of a planet or natural satellite that is covered in ice. There are no requirements with respect to size or composition for a body of ice to be termed a polar ice cap, nor any geological requirement for it to be over land; only that it must be a body of...
s could drastically affect the salinity
Salinity
Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. It is a general term used to describe the levels of different salts such as sodium chloride, magnesium and calcium sulfates, and bicarbonates...
of the North Atlantic drift by dumping a large quantity of freshwater into the world's oceans.
Bell and Strieber explain the possibility that such current destabilizations have occurred before, as well as seemingly impossible engineering feats by the ancients. Among their examples is the island city of Nan Madol
Nan Madol
Nan Madol is a ruined city that lies off the eastern shore of the island of Pohnpei that was the capital of the Saudeleur dynasty until about AD 1500. It is in the present day Madolenihmw district of Pohnpei state, in the Federated States of Micronesia in the western Pacific Ocean. The city...
; the book claims that its construction, with exacting tolerances and extremely heavy basalt materials, necessitates a high degree of technical competency. Since no such society exists in the modern record - or, even, in legend - this society must have been destroyed by dramatic means. While other explanations beside a global meteorological event are possible, a correlating evidence set is presented in the woolly mammoth. Strieber and Bell assert that, since mammoths have been found preserved with food still in their mouths and undigested in their stomachs, these animals must have been killed quickly, in otherwise normal conditions, and been preserved so well by quick freezing. This is taken as evidence of a rapid onset of a global blizzard or similar event.
Interspersed with the analytical parts of the book are a series of interlinked short fictional scenarios, written in italics, describing what might transpire today, should a destabilization of the North Atlantic Current occur. These fictional accounts of "current events" as the meteorological situation deteriorates provided background and inspiration for the 2004 science-fiction film The Day After Tomorrow
The Day After Tomorrow
The Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 American science-fiction disaster film that depicts the catastrophic effects of global warming in a series of extreme weather events that usher in global cooling which leads to a new ice age. The film did well at the box office, grossing $542,771,772 internationally...
and, indeed, some events from the book are portrayed in the film with little modification.