Thermohaline circulation
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Summary
The thermohaline circulation is the circulation associated with the
transport of the heat and salt in the world oceans. The meridional overturning circulation is the zonally averaged flow in each ocean basin.
Variations in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation may have
been important in relatively rapid climate variations in the past, such
as the Younger Dryas.
The meridional overturning circulation may be destabilized by two
mechanisms: (i) the salt advection feedback, and (ii) a convective
feedback. Box models such as the Stommel two-box model are important to understand these feedbacks.