Numerical Study of Glacial and Meltwater Global Ocean Thermohaline Conveyor

Abstract

The ocean thermohaline circulation is often referred to as a global conveyor (Gordon 1986; Broecker and Denton 1989; Broecker 1991; review in Gordon et al. 1992). It is common knowledge that the global ocean thermohaline circulation is strongly controlled by the production of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). Warm and salty subtropical water is carried to the high latitudes in the North Atlantic (NA) by the North Atlantic Current. It is cooled there and descends to set forth the deep ocean current system which is believed to be a global feature, a conveyor. Since the conveyor is mainly driven by latitudinal density gradients, which in high latitudes are controlled primarily by salinity, the density-driven conveyor is also referred to as the global salinity conveyor belt (Broecker 1991). The intriguing part of the problem is that the driving mechanism of change is thought to be very localized, with the key area of convection in the northern NA being surprisingly small with respect to the global ocean volume.