The ocean conveyor belt, scientifically termed the global meridional overturning circulation (MOC), is a planetary-scale, density-driven circulation system that links surface and deep waters across all major ocean basins. It is governed primarily by thermohaline processes, whereby variations in temperature and salinity control seawater density, inducing deep-water formation in high-latitude regions (e.g., North Atlantic) and upwelling in lower latitudes and the Southern Ocean. This circulation redistributes heat, dissolved gases, nutrients, and biogeochemical tracers, exerting strong control on Earth’s climate system, carbon cycle, and deep-ocean ventilation on decadal to millennial timescales.
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