Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Why does the thermohaline circulation affect the tempurature and salanity of water?

Dear jonathanRA,

Thanks for contacting science buddies' ask an expert. Regarding your question, I did some quick research and it seems to me that the density of the water in the oceans affects the circulation of salt and heat energy in the oceans. As ocean currents take water from the equator to the north and south poles the water from the equator becomes colder. As the water cools it becomes denser (water is densest around three degrees celsius or 37.4 degrees farenheit). The denser water sinks to the bottom of the ocean, in which salt, gases in the water, and heat mix and circulate. (Thermohaline circulation- Thermo= heat, haline=salt).

Here is more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermohaline_circulation

good luck,
scienceexpert123

Hi Jonathan!
Sounds like an interesting question! Here are some links you might want to check out-
http://www.pik-potsdam.de/~stefan/thc_fact_sheet.html
http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/info/thc/
Hope this helps, good luck!