Normally thermohaline circulation carries warm air from the tropics up to the north. As the water heads up to cooler latitudes, it releases heat. As the water cools, it sinks toward the ocean floor and begins its return trip southward.
An increase in ocean temperatures and the increased presence of less-dense freshwater in the North Atlantic (from runoff and icecap melting) could slow or stop this circulation. This, in turn, would cause Europe and North America to cool, since the previous supply of warm ocean water would be shut off. However, thanks to continued global warming, the atmosphere would be heating up at the same time the water was cooling, which would offset some of the effects.
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