The Thermohaline Circulation - The Great Ocean Conveyor Belt

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This NASA animation depicts thermohaline circulation in the ocean and how it relates to salinity and water density. It illustrates the sinking of water in the cold, dense ocean near Iceland and Greenland. The surface of the ocean then fades away and the animation pulls back to show the global thermohaline circulation system.

The abundance of liquid water on Earth’s surface and its unique combination of physical and chemical properties are central to the planet’s dynamics. These properties include water’s exceptional capacity to absorb, store, and release large amounts of energy, transmit sunlight, expand upon freezing, dissolve and transport materials, and lower the viscosities and melting points of rocks.

Weather and climate are influenced by interactions involving sunlight, the ocean, the atmosphere, ice, landforms, and living things. These interactions vary with latitude, altitude, and local and regional geography, all of which can affect oceanic and atmospheric flow patterns.

The term “heat” as used in everyday language refers both to thermal energy (the motion of atoms or molecules within a substance) and the transfer of that thermal energy from one object to another. In science, heat is used only for this second meaning; it refers to the energy transferred due to the temperature difference between two objects.

Global movements of water and its changes in form are propelled by sunlight and gravity.

Variations in density due to variations in temperature and salinity drive a global pattern of interconnected ocean currents.

The ocean exerts a major influence on weather and climate by absorbing energy from the sun, releasing it over time, and globally redistributing it through ocean currents.

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be transported from one place to another and transferred between systems.

Changes of energy and matter in a system can be described in terms of energy and matter flows into, out of, and within that system.

When investigating or describing a system, the boundaries and initial conditions of the system need to be defined and their inputs and outputs analyzed and described using models.

Energy cannot be created or destroyed—it only moves between one place and another place, between objects and/or fields, or between systems.

Models (e.g., physical, mathematical, computer models) can be used to simulate systems and interactions—including energy, matter, and information flows—within and between systems at different scales.

Energy drives the cycling of matter within and between systems.

The transfer of energy can be tracked as energy flows through a designed or natural system.

Models can be used to represent systems and their interactions—such as inputs, processes and outputs—and energy and matter flows within systems.

Energy may take different forms (e.g. energy in fields, thermal energy, energy of motion).

Models can be used to predict the behavior of a system, but these predictions have limited precision and reliability due to the assumptions and approximations inherent in models.

Within a natural or designed system, the transfer of energy drives the motion and/or cycling of matter.

Models are limited in that they only represent certain aspects of the system under study.

The Thermohaline Circulation - The Great Ocean Conveyor Belt

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