Winds drive ocean currents in the upper 100 meters of the ocean’s
surface. However, ocean currents also flow thousands of meters below
the surface. These deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in the
water’s density, which is controlled by temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline). This process is known as thermohaline circulation.
In the Earth's polar regions ocean water gets very cold, forming sea
ice. As a consequence the surrounding seawater gets saltier, because
when sea ice forms, the salt is left behind. As the seawater gets
saltier, its density increases, and it starts to sink. Surface water is
pulled in to replace the sinking water, which in turn eventually
becomes cold and salty enough to sink. This initiates the deep-ocean
currents driving the global conveyer belt.
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