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.<br /><br />According to a study in Science Reports, Netherlands-based scientists warn that global warming might temporarily halt this important current in the next century.<br /><br />According to the British Meteorological Office, the North Atlantic Current is driven by differentials in salinity and temperature levels in the sea.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The scientists say the new study's mathematical model has bolstered previous theories that freshwater inclusions would slow the current or even interrupt it.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The scientists say that such a disruption might lead to cold spells in the northern Atlantic region.
