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.
Global shipping, sea currents and habitat factors are driving the spread of Indo-Pacific fish species in the Mediterranean Sea, according to a new study published in the journal NeoBiota.
Plants & Animals
Sep 17, 2025
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The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is an enormous loop of ocean current in the Atlantic Ocean that carries warmer waters north and colder waters south, helping to regulate the climate in many regions. ...
Under high-emission scenarios, the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), a key system of ocean currents that also includes the Gulf Stream, could shut down after the year 2100. This is the conclusion of a new ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 28, 2025
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120
Using geochemical analyses of marine sediments, researchers have been able to quantitatively reconstruct the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation over the past 12,000 years. The international research team, led by ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 14, 2025
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Anomalies in temperature and salinity that originate in the midlatitude North Atlantic can affect the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in the Nordic Seas up to a decade later. A new study published in Communications ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 11, 2025
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147
In a world affected by climate change, the Southern Ocean plays an outsized role. It absorbs up to 40% of the human-caused emissions taken up by the oceans while also being home to some of the world's most vulnerable ecosystems.
Earth Sciences
Jul 30, 2025
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20
Deep below the surface of the ocean, unseen waves roil and churn the water. These internal waves, traveling between water layers of different temperatures and densities, draw cold, nutrient-rich water up from the depths and ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 25, 2025
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65
How is ventilation at various depth layers of the Atlantic connected and what role do changes in ocean circulation play? Researchers from Bremen, Kiel and Edinburgh have pursued this question and their findings have now been ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 17, 2025
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119
Monitoring changes in water temperature and pressure at the seafloor can improve understanding of ocean circulation, climate, and natural hazards such as tsunamis. In recent years, scientists have begun gathering submarine ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 16, 2025
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65
From more frequent wildfires to rising sea levels, climate change is disrupting ecosystems and upending once-stable weather patterns. One particularly alarming consequence of rising global temperatures is the potential collapse ...
