The Stommel and Arons (1960 a,b) model of the circulation in the abyssal ocean is modified by allowing the temperature (homogeneous in Stommel — Arons) to vary with depth and latitude and weakly with longitude. The temperature and vertical velocity are specified at the top of the abyss as functions of latitude and weakly of longitude. The resulting distributions of temperature for the North Atlantic show agreement with the climatological data given in Levitus (1982) when the vertical coefficient of thermal diffusion is 125 × 10−4m2s−l. The vertical, meridional and zonal components of velocity show significant change in structure from the Stommel — Arons expressions.