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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. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The adjective thermohaline derives from thermo- referring to temperature and -haline referring to salt content , factors which together determine the density of sea ...
Winds drive ocean currents in the upper 100 meters of the ocean's surface. However, ocean currents also flow thousands of meters below the surface. These deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in the water's density, which is controlled by temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline). This process is known as thermohaline circulation.
Thermohaline circulation transports not only massive volumes of warm and cold water across the planet, but also dissolved oxygen, dissolved organic carbon and other nutrients such as iron. [2] Thus, both halves of the circulation have a great effect on Earth's energy budget and oceanic carbon cycle , and so play an essential role in the Earth's ...
In oceanography, an overflow is a type of deep-water circulation in which denser water flows into an adjacent basin beneath lighter water. This process is significant in thermohaline circulation, contributing to the global ocean's deep water mass formation. [1]
The Thermohaline Circulation is part of the global ocean circulation. Although this phenomenon is not fully understood yet, it is known that its driving processes are thermohaline forcing and turbulent mixing . [ 26 ]
The thermohaline circulation is driven by the formation of deep water at high latitudes where seawater is usually cooler and denser Since deep water (that is, seawater in the ocean's interior) is formed under the same surface conditions that promote carbon dioxide solubility, it contains a higher concentration of dissolved inorganic carbon than ...
This deep-ocean DIC returns to the atmosphere on millennial timescales through thermohaline circulation. Between 1% and 40% of the primary production is exported out of the euphotic zone, which attenuates exponentially towards the base of the mesopelagic zone and only about 1% of the surface production reaches the sea floor. [61] [64] [56]
The Geochemical Ocean Sections Study (GEOSECS) was a global survey of the three-dimensional distributions of chemical, isotopic, and radiochemical tracers in the ocean. [1] A key objective was to investigate the deep thermohaline circulation of the ocean, using chemical tracers, including radiotracers, to establish the pathways taken by this.