Encyclopedia > Global conveyor belt

  Article Content

Global conveyor belt

The term conveyor belt has been adopted to express the idea of the ocean-based elements of the climate system which transport heat. The global conveyor belt (known technically as the thermohaline circulation[?]) operates when the heat from the sun on the Atlantic Ocean is conveyed northward by currents, heating the north Atlantic. The ocean loses its heat in the very northern reaches and can become more saline due to ice production. The cold water sinks to the bottom (forming North Atlantic Deep Water) and circulates to complete the conveyor belt.

See also: downwelling, upwelling



All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

 
  Search Encyclopedia

Search over one million articles, find something about almost anything!
 
 
  
  Featured Article
Grateful Dead

... contrast to many other bands, the Grateful Dead encouraged their fans to tape their shows. For many years, almost all of their shows would have dedicated taping sections. ...

 
 
 
This page was created in 25.9 ms