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Introduction

What is the oceans role in climate? The oceans play a vital and pivotal role in the distribution of life sustaining water throughout our planet. 86% of the evaporation that occurs on earth is over the oceans. The oceans are the planets largest reservoir of water transferring huge amounts of water around the hydrological cycle. In fact the oceans “dominate the hydrological cycle, for they contain 97% of the global water inventory”   . The hydrological cycle can be disrupted by changes in ocean circulation that play such an important role on evaporation and precipitation. When the ocean circulation system changes it can change how much heat and rainfall is distributed around the world. Changes on a global scale can ultimately lead to flooding and long term drought in various regions. The big questions are can we monitor the oceans circulation and watch for climate changes? Can we predict what might happen if the ocean circulation changed dramatically? We have experienced major climate changes in the past; can we look for evidence of ocean change during these periods?

The Conveyor Belt

The global ocean circulation system is called the thermohaline circulation. Often called the ‘conveyor belt’ courtesy of Wallace Broecker who in an article for Natural History in 1987 had an artist draw a simplified version of the thermohaline circulation and called it the conveyor belt. Wallace Broecker is the Newberry Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University. He has taught at Columbia since 1959, and his research interests include paleoclimatology, ocean chemistry, isotope dating and environmental science. He conducts much of his research in Columbia University's Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory. Broecker has received many awards for his scientific work, including Arthur L. Day Medal from the Geological Society of America (1984), the Alexander Agassiz Medal from the National Academy of Sciences (1986), the Wollaston Medal from the...