---
title: Study Documents Slowing of Atlantic Currents
date: 2024-03-25T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/study-documents-atlantic-currents-slowing"
section: Articles
---
# Study Documents Slowing of Atlantic Currents

*March 25, 2024* — by [Cazzy Medley](/author/cazzy-medley)


> Change to System Crucial to Climate Regulation Could Intensify Effects of Climate Change

*Adobe Stock 443479301 1920x1080 — Ocean warming is causing changes in ocean currents that could intensify climate change effects, UMD researchers found.*

While scientists have observed oceans heating up for decades and theorized that their rising temperatures weaken global currents, a new study led by a University of Maryland researcher documents for the first time, based on field data from the [World Ocean Database](https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/world-ocean-database) and climatology from the [World Ocean Atlas](https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/world-ocean-atlas)[](https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/world-ocean-atlas), a significant slowing of a crucial ocean current system that plays a role in regulating Earth’s climate.  
  
Published recently in *Frontiers in Ocean Science*, the [paper](https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2024.1345426/full) led by Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC) scientist Alexey Mishonov examined decades of field data on seawater temperature and salinity found in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) largest oceanographic database.   
  
Mishonov and coauthors Dan Seidov and James Reagan from NOAA discovered that the the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) current system’s flow remained stable and consistent from 1955 to 1994. However, in the mid-’90s, AMOC strength began to decline and the current began to move slower, which the scientists attribute to the continued warming of the ocean’s surface and the accompanying changes in the salinity of its upper layers.


*map of ocean currents*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Atmospheric and Oceanic Science](https://today.umd.edu/topic/atmospheric-and-oceanic-science), [Climate Change](https://today.umd.edu/topic/climate-change), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-computer-mathematical-and-natural-sciences), [Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center](https://today.umd.edu/topic/earth-system-science-interdisciplinary-center)