Ocean Currents – The Planet's Conveyor Belt

The ocean isn't the calm, flat expanse it can look like from the shore — it's laced with enormous rivers of moving water, from wind-driven surface currents to a slow deep circulation spanning the entire globe. This episode traces ocean currents from the Coriolis effect and rotating gyres down into thermohaline circulation, heat transport, upwelling and fisheries, closing with an honest look at the uncertainty around a possible slowdown in deep circulation. You'll come away understanding how wind and the Coriolis effect combine to create gyres like the East Australian Current, what drives the slow, deep thermohaline circulation and where its dense water masses form, how ocean currents move heat around the planet and shape regional climate, why upwelling zones support such disproportionately rich fisheries, and what scientists do and don't yet know about a possible weakening of the Atlantic overturning circulation. Talking Science is sponsored by Kinsoft. Visit www.kinsoft.com.au Further reading: NOAA – ocean currents and thermohaline circulation overviews; CSIRO – research on the East Australian Current; Nature – research on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation; Scientific American – features on ocean circulation and climate.