The Thermohaline Circulation

Abstract

What is the thermohaline circulation? There are three main processes that make the oceans circulate: tidal forces, wind stress, and density differences. The density of sea water is controlled by its temperature (thermo) and its salinity (haline), and the circulation driven by density differences is thus called the thermohaline circulation. The animation and list below describes the key features of the global-scale thermohaline circulation.