GRONINGEN, NETHERLANDS — The North Atlantic Current is a vast flow of warm seawater from the Gulf of Mexico that makes northwestern Europe's mild climate possible.
According to a study in Science Reports, Netherlands-based scientists warn that global warming might temporarily halt this important current in the next century.
According to the British Meteorological Office, the North Atlantic Current is driven by differentials in salinity and temperature levels in the sea.
As the hot current flows north, the water loses salinity and heat.
This cold, dense water then sinks deep into the ocean and flows back to tropical waters.
According to the researchers' news release, climate change-related ice melt in Greenland and excessive rains over the seas are adding freshwater to the North Atlantic.
The scientists say the new study's mathematical model has bolstered previous theories that freshwater inclusions would slow the current or even interrupt it.
A study co-author says that their simulations predict a 15 percent chance that the current would seize up temporarily in the next 100 years.
The scientists say that such a disruption might lead to cold spells in the northern Atlantic region.