All models show a characteristic hysteresis response of the thermohaline circulation to the freshwater forcing; which can be explained by Stommel's salt advection feedback. The oceans are mostly composed of warm salty water near the surface over cold, less salty water in the ocean depths. It is gravity that drives thermohaline circulation. Thermohaline circulation hysteresis: A model intercomparison Stefan Rahmstorf,1 Michel Crucifix,2 Andrey Ganopolski,1 Hugues Goosse,3 Igor Kamenkovich,4 Reto Knutti,5 Gerrit Lohmann,6 Robert Marsh,7 Lawrence A. Mysak,8 Zhaomin Wang,8 and Andrew J. Weaver9 Received 2 June 2005; revised 27 October 2005; accepted 28 October 2005; published 6 December 2005. We usually apply the term thermohaline circulation to the deep ocean currents that are driven by gravity. These two regions don't mix except in certain special areas, which creates a large slow current called the thermohaline circulation.This website, presented by NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, provides students and educators with resources However, there are other significant ocean currents that are independent of the wind, and involve water movements in the other 90% of the ocean. The width of the hysteresis curves varies between 0.2 and 0.5 Sv in the models. 9.8 Thermohaline Circulation The surface currents we have discussed so far are ultimately driven by the wind, and since they only involve surface water they only affect about 10% of the ocean’s volume. The diagram shows the thermohaline circulation, also know as the ocean's conveyor belt. Major differences are found in the location of present‐day climate on the hysteresis diagram. Show a T-S diagram with identified water masses to illustrate that water density varies with other water properties. ... Thermohaline circulation carries this oxygen-rich deep water throughout the oceans, where the oxygen will be used by deep water organisms. ... What would happen to the development of the thermohaline circulation if the wintertime near-surface temperatures were to become warmer. A T-S diagram shows lines of equal density, or isopycnals, for various combinations of temperature and salinity (Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\)). It's a gravity current. ... Thermohaline circulation is a concept used in oceanography, referring to the oceanic circulation that depends on factors such as surface heat and salinity, as well as the density gradient that they determine. thermohaline circulation as a 'conveyor' has attracted attention to the possible consequences of global warming in response to increased concentrations of atmospheric CO: produced by the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation - the so-called enhanced greenhouse effect.