Figure 3: Global MOC of the ocean obtained by tracer inversion
From: Closure of the meridional overturning circulation through Southern Ocean upwelling
a, Atlantic, b, Southern and c, Indo-Pacific oceans contoured every 2 Sv (1 Sv=106 m3 s−1), plotted as a function of latitude and density. The dashed line in the Southern Ocean divides the upper and lower cells and roughly corresponds to (neutral) density surface 27.6 kg m−3, which outcrops in the latitude range of Drake Passage, marked on Fig. 4. Grey lines indicate the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the Atlantic and the main bathymetric features of the Pacific (dark) and Indian (light) ocean basins and the Scotia Ridge in the Southern Ocean. The thick white line represents the densest water modified by air–sea fluxes over the seasonal cycle. Modified from Lumpkin and Speer25.
