What Is the Global Conveyor

The global ocean conveyor belt

What is the global conveyor belt and why is it important?

The Global Conveyor Belt serves as a model for the mechanism of how heat is transported throughout the ocean. Global thermohaline circulation is a relatively slow process. Radiocarbon measurements show that deep water in the ocean is replaced by new bottom water only every 600 years.

What is global ocean circulation?

Global Ocean Circulation. Global Ocean Circulation. Ocean circulation is the large scale movement of waters in the ocean basins. Winds drive surface circulation, and the cooling and sinking of waters in the polar regions drive deep circulation. Surface circulation carries the warm upper waters poleward from the tropics …