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.
A groundbreaking study in the journal Science, has unveiled how deep ocean currents—known as global overturning circulation—play a pivotal role in shaping the diversity and function of microbial life across the South Pacific ...
Ecology
Jul 14, 2025
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A new invited commentary by Ke Chen, associate scientist in the Physical Oceanography department at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), highlights the significance of a study published in Geophysical Research Letters.
Environment
Jul 9, 2025
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Biogeographical regions of marine organisms, i.e., their distribution across different habitats, often overlap well with the major global ocean currents. The geological age of the currents plays a major role in this. The ...
Ecology
Jul 2, 2025
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A patch of the Atlantic Ocean just south of Greenland is cooling while much of the world warms. The origin of this "cold blob" has been linked to weakening ocean currents that help regulate global climate—called the Atlantic ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 1, 2025
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At this year's Living Planet Symposium, attendees heard how ESA's Next Generation Gravity Mission could provide the first opportunity to directly track a vital ocean circulation system that warms our planet—but is now weakening, ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 26, 2025
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For more than a century, a patch of cold water south of Greenland has resisted the Atlantic Ocean's overall warming, fueling debate among scientists. A new study identifies the cause as the long-term weakening of a major ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 21, 2025
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A pair of meteorologists in the Netherlands has used new simulations to show just how cold many of Europe's cities could get if the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) were to collapse due to global warming. ...
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) serves as the Atlantic Ocean's conveyor belt, transporting warm water north toward the Arctic Circle and returning cold, dense water back to the tropics. Nearshore areas ...
Earth Sciences
May 29, 2025
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The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, commonly referred to as the "AMOC," is a system of ocean currents confined to the Atlantic basin that plays a crucial role in regulating Earth's climate by transporting heat ...
Earth Sciences
May 29, 2025
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In the Atlantic Ocean, a system of currents carries vast amounts of warm, salty surface water northward. As this water reaches higher latitudes and becomes colder, it sinks and joins a deep, southward return flow. This cycle, ...
Earth Sciences
May 28, 2025
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