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About This Collection

As a result of a United Nations General Assembly resolution passed in December 2008, World Oceans Day is celebrated on June 8th each year. This annual event spurred the creation of a special collections around our oceans and the efforts being made in conservation ranging from pollution to habitat restoration to fishing and fisheries.

The special collection continues to grow along with Plastic in Our Oceans and 1Water, with a focus on the challenge of providing clean drinking water to the world population.

Curated by mokiethecat

Following the upper and lower limbs of the AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation).

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) comprises two limbs. Its upper limb transports warm, tropical waters northward, releasing heat influencing European weather. The lower limb carries cold, dense waters southward at depth.

Driven by solar radiation, the AMOC's upper limb features vigorous currents like the Gulf Stream, flowing north along the Atlantic's western boundary. These currents, forming eddies, carry heat towards higher latitudes, reaching the Nordic Seas to cool and densify.

In regions like the Labrador Sea, these cooled, dense waters plunge via convection to 1000-2000m. This forms the Deep Western Boundary Current, the AMOC's lower limb, flowing slowly southward along the continental slope. Further south, this deep flow is disrupted by topography and eddies, losing its structure.