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Thermohaline circulation. 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 ...
Higher salinity and cooler water results in a higher water density (see also spiciness of ocean water). Since differences in water density drive large-scale ocean circulation, freshwater fluxes are most important for ocean circulation patterns like the Thermohaline Circulation (THC).
Thermohaline staircases are patterns that form in oceans and other bodies of salt water, characterised by step-like structures observed in vertical temperature and salinity profiles; the patterns are formed and maintained by double diffusion of heat and salt. The ocean phenomenon consists of well-mixed layers of ocean water stacked on top of ...
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.
The adjective thermohaline derives from thermo-referring to temperature and -haline referring to salt content, factors which together determine the density of seawater. The thermohaline circulation is a part of the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes.
Deep water eventually gains heat and/or loses salinity in an exchange with the mixed ocean layer, and becomes less dense and rises towards the surface. Differences in temperature and salinity exist between ocean layers and between parts of the World Ocean, and together they drive the thermohaline circulation. [18]
Thermohaline (literally meaning heat-salty) currents are very influenced by heat. Cold water from glaciers, icebergs, etc. descends to join the ultra-deep, cold section of the worldwide Thermohaline current. After spending an exceptionally long time in the depths, it eventually heats up, rising to join the higher Thermohaline current section.
This was studied by Stommel in 1961. The climate of the Northern hemisphere is influenced by the oceanic transport of heat and salt from the tropics to the sub-polar regions. The ocean releases heat to the atmosphere in the sub-polar Atlantic region. This Northward heat transport is responsible for the relatively warm climate in Northwest Europe.