... the Gulf Stream stopped?

Have you ever heard of the gulf stream, also known as the 'heating of europe'? And what would happen if that big heating suddenly stops? Would we have another ice age?

The gulf stream is a current in the atlantic ocean. It has its origin in the gulf of mexico where the water warms up to 30 degree celsius. The gulf stream is floating north, where it divides in two streams: the north atlantic drift and the canary current. The north atlantic drift is the current which is important for Europe. It floats all the way from the eastcoast of North America to the westcoast of Ireland and Norway. After this long way, it has lost temperature and gained a lot of salt. The salinity is so high, that the water of the north atlantic drift is very heavy and 'falls down'. You can imagine it like an enormous underwater-waterfall. After that, it finds it way back to the atlantic ocean and the gulf of mexico, and the circulation starts again.
So why is it so important for Europe? Scientists believe that the gulf stream has a huge impact on our climate. The climate in Northern and Western Europe is a lot warmer than it would be without. The reason is, that the warm water heats the air, and so the climate is much softer and the coasts stay icefree. While Greenland is all icy, you can find palms in the south of Ireland.
But why should it even stop? Through climate change, glaciers melt and a lot of cold freshwater finds it way to the ocean. That means that the salt concentration in the sea sinks and the 'underwater-waterfall' isn't working any more. The water of the north atlantic drift can't get back and the circulation doesn't work any more. If that happens, there is no warm water transported to Europe any more and the climate, espeacially on the coasts of Northern and Western Europe would change a lot. It would get colder, longer winters with a lot of ice. This would also mean that the vegetation would go back. But what if the temperature falls so dramatically, that a new ice age develops, like in the movie 'A day after tomorrow'? It would get so cold, that no agriculture is possible. People would have to leave their homes and imigrate to other countries. But where is space for over 730 million people?
Personally, I just hope that scenario doesn't happen. But either way, it's another good reason to fight against climate change and protect our environment.