Bottom water circulation
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benthos beset blizzard bottom water
bottom water
Sea ice drives bottom water circulation through the Southern Ocean. Unlike the Antarctic ice sheet, which inches seawards as glaciers break off as ice bergs, sea ice forms from sea water that surrounds Antarctica.
When sea ice melts, during the southern hemisphere spring and summer, cold, salt-dense water sinks down to deeper layers. From there it moves outwards and upwards in a spiraling motion from east to west. This is known as the Conveyor belt, or thermohaline circulation, where water circulation is driven by changes in salinity and temperature that determine its density.
This motion shapes the planet's climate through a feedback interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere. Through this complex mechanism, bottom water spirals outwards and northwards to join the circumpolar current, (ACC), or West Wind Drift.
