The Great Ocean Conveyor, also called the thermohaline circulation, has great implications for climate. The conveyor is slow moving but over 30 million cubic meters of water enter the conveyor every second.
Surface water that is warmed at the equator moves to high latitudes where it releases heat to the atmosphere. As a result of this, the water cools and becomes denser and sinks to the bottom of the ocean. Most of the sinking happens in the North Atlantic portion of the conveyor (Atlantic).
The warm waters of the North Atlantic Conveyor Belt are carried north by the Gulf Stream. Once thes…
