Ocean currents are essential for the global distribution of heat and thus also for climate on earth. For example, oxygen is transferred into the deep sea through the formation of new deep water around Antarctica. Weddell Sea sourced Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) normally spreads northwards into the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. However, during the peak of the last two ice ages, the supply of deep water from the Weddell Sea to the South Atlantic Ocean was apparently interrupted, as shown by a new study led by scientists of the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel.
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Source: Phys.org