Ocean circulation

Ocean circulation is the large-scale movement of seawater driven by winds, density differences, and Earth’s rotation. It redistributes heat, salt, nutrients, and carbon around the planet.

Wind-driven circulation: Ocean currents generated chiefly by wind stress at the sea surface. Wind stress drives surface gyres and helps set the upper ocean in motion.
Ocean gyre: A large system of rotating ocean currents shaped by winds, Earth’s rotation, and basin boundaries. Gyres are the broad recurring patterns of wind-driven surface flow.
Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: A system of Atlantic currents that transports warm surface water northward and returns colder deep water southward. It is a major pathway for heat transport between the tropics and North Atlantic.
Langmuir circulation: Parallel windrows of rotating surface-water cells generated by interactions between wind and waves. It is a smaller-scale circulation pattern, unlike basin-wide currents.
Ocean conveyor belt: A simplified depiction of connected global surface and deep ocean flows. This metaphor highlights the long-distance links among ocean basins.
Thermohaline circulation: Deep ocean circulation associated with seawater density differences caused by temperature and salinity. Density contrasts help form and move deep water masses.
Water mass: A body of seawater with a relatively uniform range of temperature and salinity. Distinct water masses carry identifiable properties as circulation moves them.
Ocean heat transport: The movement of thermal energy by ocean currents and water-mass exchange. Circulation redistributes heat and influences regional and global climate.
Tidal current: A horizontal flow of seawater produced by the rise and fall of tides. Tides drive currents through periodic gravitational forcing rather than primarily wind or density contrasts.
Marine ecosystem: A community of marine organisms interacting with one another and their physical environment. Currents shape habitat conditions and transport organisms, nutrients, and food.

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