Study Shows Atlantic Circulation Weakest In Last 1,000 Years

Gulf Stream water currents in the Atlantic Ocean have slowed to the weakest in the last 1,000 years, according to a new study. The change can lead to threatening shift in U.S. and European weather.

According to researchers, the currents are probably affected by changes in ocean density as fresh water melts from Arctic ice sheets.

The Gulf Stream, one of the world's most important flows, pumps warm water north and cold water south and is responsible for the mild climate in northwestern Europe. Recent changes are unprecedented since the year 900, the Potsdam Institute said, adding that man-made climate change appeared to be to blame, Bloomberg noted.

"One specific area in the North Atlantic has been cooling in the past hundred years while the rest of the world heats up," with research suggesting slowing circulation may be to blame, Stefan Rahmstorf, an institute scientist and lead author of its study, said. "If the slowdown of the Atlantic overturning continues, the impacts might be substantial."

Researchers also underscored that climate models should be updated as they underestimate the effects of the temperature swings and ice melt.

"If you shut down this mode of ocean circulation, you're denying the climate system one of its modes of heat transport," Michael Mann, a Penn State professor said. "If you deny it one mode of transport, it's often the case that you will see other modes of transport increase."

The study is published in the journal Nature Climate Change.