when the conveyor belt ocean circulation stops winters in europe are much cooler.
when the conveyor belt ocean circulation stops winters in europe are much?
cooler
as the northern hemisphere warms, a temperature gradient is established between the northern and southern hemispheres. the warmer temperatures in the northern parts of the tropics foster an environment more conducive to the development of moisture. the additional moisture is met with a low-level atmosphere that is cooler because the warm air has risen to the higher levels of the atmosphere. this scenario leads to increased precipitation and is a fundament behind the idea that the rain belt is moving north. the contrast in temperature is only a part of the entire process that is driving the tropical rain belt northward. another factor that influences the tropical rain belt is ocean circulation. ocean overturning circulation is a process that involves ocean circulation between the antarctic and arctic regions.
tropical rain belt
the thermohaline circulation is a part of the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes. the adjective "thermohaline" derives from "thermo-" referring to temperature and "" referring to salt content, factors which together determine the density of sea water. wind-driven surface currents (such as the gulf stream) travel polewards from the equatorial atlantic ocean, cooling en route, and eventually sinking at high latitudes (forming north atlantic deep water). this dense water then flows into the ocean basins. while the bulk of it upwells in the southern ocean, the oldest waters (with a transit time of around 1000 years) upwell in the north pacific. extensive mixing therefore takes place between the ocean basins, reducing differences between them and making the earth's oceans a global system. on their journey, the water masses transport both energy (in the form of heat) and matter (solids, dissolved substances and gases) around the globe. as such, the state of the circulation has a large impact on the climate of the earth. the thermohaline circulation is sometimes called the ocean conveyor belt, the great ocean conveyor, or the global conveyor belt. on occasion, it is imprecisely used to refer to the meridional overturning circulation, "moc".
ocean current