![]() ![]() For example, the wind easily produces ripples on the surface of a pond. The movement of surface currents pushed by the wind is fairly intuitive. Overview The global conveyor belt on a continuous-ocean map (animation) The Atlantic Meridional Overturning circulation (AMOC) is part of a global thermohaline circulation. Moreover, temperature and salinity gradients can also lead to circulation effects that are not included in the MOC itself. The term MOC is more accurate and well defined, as it is difficult to separate the part of the circulation which is driven by temperature and salinity alone as opposed to other factors such as the wind and tidal forces. On occasion, it is used to refer to the meridional overturning circulation (often abbreviated as MOC). The thermohaline circulation is sometimes called the ocean conveyor belt, the great ocean conveyor, or the global conveyor belt, coined by climate scientist Wallace Smith Broecker. As such, the state of the circulation has a large impact on the climate of the Earth. The water in these circuits transport both energy (in the form of heat) and mass (dissolved solids and gases) around the globe. Extensive mixing therefore takes place between the ocean basins, reducing differences between them and making the Earth's oceans a global system. While the bulk of it upwells in the Southern Ocean, the oldest waters (with a transit time of about 1000 years) upwell in the North Pacific. This dense water then flows into the ocean basins. Wind-driven surface currents (such as the Gulf Stream) travel polewards from the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, cooling en route, and eventually sinking at high latitudes (forming North Atlantic Deep Water). The adjective thermohaline derives from thermo- referring to temperature and -haline referring to salt content, factors which together determine the density of sea water. Thermohaline circulation ( THC) is a part of the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes. Blue paths represent deep-water currents, while red paths represent surface currents. A summary of the path of the thermohaline circulation.
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