Ocean circulation refers to the large-scale, coherent movement of seawater driven primarily by wind stress, density gradients (thermohaline processes), Earth’s rotation, and basin geometry. It encompasses wind-driven gyres, western boundary currents, and the global overturning circulation that links surface and deep waters across ocean basins. Ocean circulation redistributes heat, salt, carbon, nutrients, and tracers, thereby regulating climate, biogeochemical cycles, and sea level. It is studied using in situ observations, satellite remote sensing, numerical models, and theory, with key research focusing on circulation variability, its sensitivity to forcing (e.g., greenhouse gas–induced warming and freshwater input), and associated feedbacks in the climate system.
On July 23, R/V Kronprins Haakon cast off from the coal quay in Longyearbyen. Around 30 researchers and 20 crew members will spend the next 50 days sailing toward the North Pole as part of the Polhavet 2050 research program.
Earth Sciences
Jul 28, 2026
0
35
For more than 20 years, about 4,000 autonomous profiling floats have been drifting through the ocean. They form part of the international Argo program (Argo—global array of profiling floats). At regular intervals, they descend ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 23, 2026
0
61
New Antarctic research shows the deepest layer of the Southern Ocean is shrinking faster than scientists realized, with the rate of change accelerating over the past decade. This is of worldwide significance because as it ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 15, 2026
0
50
A Florida State University paleoclimatologist led the creation of a global database hosting thousands of seawater isotope measurements collected over almost 50 years that will aid scientists in generating more accurate climate ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 14, 2026
0
7
Why do some coral reefs weather marine heat waves better than others? A new study published in Scientific Reports shows that the answer may lie not only in local ocean conditions, but also in climate patterns that span entire ...
Ecology
Jul 12, 2026
0
23
Tiny, invisible swirls and twirls—not much bigger than a coin—deep below the ocean's surface are silently shaping some of the biggest forces shaping our climate: sea level rise, fisheries collapse, extreme flooding and how ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 9, 2026
0
22
A slowing Atlantic Ocean current is projected to intensify powerful storms in California while reducing snowfall over Greenland, according to a recent University of California, Riverside study. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning ...
Environment
Jul 8, 2026
0
115
The state of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) has been a hot topic among climate scientists in recent years. The AMOC is crucial for climate regulation because it pulls warm surface water from the tropics ...
The Southern Ocean has long stood out as an oddity in the global climate system. While most of the planet's surface oceans have warmed in response to rising greenhouse gases, waters circling Antarctica showed an unexpected ...
The Congo River is the second-largest river in the world, releasing an average of 40,000 cubic meters of water per second into the Atlantic Ocean. This huge discharge rate creates a large plume of fresh water that fans out ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 3, 2026
0
56
