Theories of the General Ocean Circulation

The general circulation of the ocean is a global phenomenon in which many geographically localized structures have long attracted scientific attention. This lecture will survey some of these and emphasize the connection between them. The connection between western boundary currents, such as the Gulf Stream, and the oceanic interior circulation will be discussed. The vertical density structure of the broad interior of the ocean, the thermocline, will be shown to be connected to the equatorial current system, in particular the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC). The possibility that the strength of the global meridional overturning circulation (MOC), so important to the climate system, is related to the detailed boundary layer structure joining the base of the thermocline to the abyssal ocean will be reviewed.