O c e a n r e l e a s e s l a r g e a m o u n t o f h e a t t o a t m o s p h e r e
North America South America
O c e a n w a t e r c o o l s , b e c o m e s d e n s e r a n d s i n k s t o f o r m a p o w e r f u l , d e e p s o u t h w a r d c u r r e n t .
L e s s h e a t i s r e l e a s e d i n t o t h e a t m o s p h e r e
Ice sheet
W a t e r s f r o m t h e s o u t h ll mor e o f t h e d e e p
W a t e r s i n k s t o i n t e r m e d i a t e d e p t h s a n d s p r e a d s w i t h o u t
The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) carries a tremendous amount of heat from the tropics northward, warming the North Atlantic region. When the surface water cools at high latitudes, this large volume of cold salty water sinks and flows southward, filling up the deep Atlantic Ocean basin and eventually spreading into the deep Indian and Pacific Oceans. Changes within the Arctic could influence ocean circulation—and in turn, affect global climate. Source: Adapted from NAS 2015; Oberlander 2014
