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.
The heat wave battering Europe may have an unlikely partner in crime: a patch of cold ocean water south of Iceland and Greenland that can influence weather patterns over the continent.
Environment
Jun 26, 2026
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The eastern tropical Pacific Ocean is known for its large low-oxygen zones that are increasing in size, putting marine life at risk. New research shows that 15 million years ago, the opposite was true.
Earth Sciences
Jun 26, 2026
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70
In recent years, marine heat waves have been taking an ever-greater toll on the world's oceans and their ecosystems. Amplified by increasing global warming, these events are occurring more frequently and lasting longer. The ...
Environment
Jun 21, 2026
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70
Florida State University researchers have identified key differences in the root causes of long-term sea-surface temperature changes across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, a finding that could help guide future research ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 17, 2026
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40
It is becoming increasingly urgent to study the effects of climate change on the global ocean system. Future projections indicate significant changes in the Mediterranean and Atlantic circulation systems, which could have ...
Environment
Jun 16, 2026
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46
The warm Gulf Stream is maintained by coldness. The Barents Sea is a cooling machine. To predict how ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean may develop, one needs to know what drives them. The hunt for driving forces has led ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 15, 2026
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16
The world relies on a modest number of countries to keep watch over the ocean. That arrangement is starting to fail. Europe and Asia must now decide whether to let the system unravel, or to take it up together.
Environment
Jun 13, 2026
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57
During an abrupt global cold snap nearly 13,000 years ago, the Gulf Stream ocean current shifted farther north, temporarily disrupting eastern Canada's oceanic ecosystems, a process that could happen again as the climate ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 12, 2026
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92
A new study combining NASA satellite observations, ocean surveys and genetic testing of marine microorganisms found evidence that warming ocean waters may be limiting nutrient availability across much of the global ocean. ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 8, 2026
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20
A part of the Atlantic Ocean, just south of Greenland and Iceland, has been cooling off while the rest of the world gets hotter. This enigmatic patch is often referred to as the "cold blob" and scientists have been trying ...
