Controls of the global overturning circulation of the ocean
Abstract The global overturning circulation (GOC) is the largest scale component of the ocean circulation, associated with a global redistribution of key tracers such as heat and carbon. The GOC generates decadal to millennial climate variability, and will determine much of the long-term response to...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-08-01
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| Series: | npj Climate and Atmospheric Science |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-01185-8 |
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| _version_ | 1849345366889070592 |
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| author | Fabien Roquet Michael J. Bell Agatha M. de Boer David Ferreira C. Spencer Jones Joseph H. LaCasce Casimir de Lavergne David P. Marshall David R. Munday Jonas Nycander Malin Ödalen |
| author_facet | Fabien Roquet Michael J. Bell Agatha M. de Boer David Ferreira C. Spencer Jones Joseph H. LaCasce Casimir de Lavergne David P. Marshall David R. Munday Jonas Nycander Malin Ödalen |
| author_sort | Fabien Roquet |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The global overturning circulation (GOC) is the largest scale component of the ocean circulation, associated with a global redistribution of key tracers such as heat and carbon. The GOC generates decadal to millennial climate variability, and will determine much of the long-term response to anthropogenic climate perturbations. This review aims at providing an overview of the main controls of the GOC. By controls, we mean processes affecting the overturning structure and variability. We distinguish three main controls: mechanical mixing, convection, and wind pumping. Geography provides an additional control on geological timescales. An important emphasis of this review is to present how the different controls interact with each other to produce an overturning flow, making this review relevant to the study of past, present and future climates as well as to exoplanets’ oceans. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a396d017dfe44707b4149256c8d0e981 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2397-3722 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | npj Climate and Atmospheric Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-a396d017dfe44707b4149256c8d0e9812025-08-20T03:42:30ZengNature Portfolionpj Climate and Atmospheric Science2397-37222025-08-018111910.1038/s41612-025-01185-8Controls of the global overturning circulation of the oceanFabien Roquet0Michael J. Bell1Agatha M. de Boer2David Ferreira3C. Spencer Jones4Joseph H. LaCasce5Casimir de Lavergne6David P. Marshall7David R. Munday8Jonas Nycander9Malin Ödalen10Department of Marine Sciences, University of GothenburgMet OfficeDepartment of Geological Sciences and Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm UniversityDepartment of Meteorology, University of ReadingDepartment of Oceanography, Texas A&M UniversityDepartment of Geosciences, University of OsloLOCEAN Laboratory, Sorbonne University-CNRS-IRD-MNHNDepartment of Physics, University of OxfordBritish Antarctic SurveyDepartment of Meteorology and Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm UniversityClimate and Environment Division, NORCE, and Bjerknes Centre for Climate ResearchAbstract The global overturning circulation (GOC) is the largest scale component of the ocean circulation, associated with a global redistribution of key tracers such as heat and carbon. The GOC generates decadal to millennial climate variability, and will determine much of the long-term response to anthropogenic climate perturbations. This review aims at providing an overview of the main controls of the GOC. By controls, we mean processes affecting the overturning structure and variability. We distinguish three main controls: mechanical mixing, convection, and wind pumping. Geography provides an additional control on geological timescales. An important emphasis of this review is to present how the different controls interact with each other to produce an overturning flow, making this review relevant to the study of past, present and future climates as well as to exoplanets’ oceans.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-01185-8 |
| spellingShingle | Fabien Roquet Michael J. Bell Agatha M. de Boer David Ferreira C. Spencer Jones Joseph H. LaCasce Casimir de Lavergne David P. Marshall David R. Munday Jonas Nycander Malin Ödalen Controls of the global overturning circulation of the ocean npj Climate and Atmospheric Science |
| title | Controls of the global overturning circulation of the ocean |
| title_full | Controls of the global overturning circulation of the ocean |
| title_fullStr | Controls of the global overturning circulation of the ocean |
| title_full_unstemmed | Controls of the global overturning circulation of the ocean |
| title_short | Controls of the global overturning circulation of the ocean |
| title_sort | controls of the global overturning circulation of the ocean |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-025-01185-8 |
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