Ocean current the windthe Coriolis effect plays a role in their behaviours. The thermohaline circulation is a part of the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes. The adjective "thermohaline" derives from "thermo-" referring to temperature and "" referring to salt content, factors which together determine the density of sea water. Wind-driven surface currents (such as the Gulf Stream) travel polewards from the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, cooling en route, and eventually sinking at high latitudes (forming North Atlantic Deep Water). This dense water then flows into the ocean basins. While the bulk
North Atlantic Deep Water through the Norwegian Current which splits into the Fram Strait and Barents Sea Branch. Water from the Fram Strait recirculates, reaching a density of DSOW, sinks, and flows towards the Denmark Strait. Water flowing into the Barent Sea feeds ISOW. ISOW enters the eastern North Atlantic over the Iceland-Scotland Ridge through the Faeroe Bank Channel at a depth of 850 m, with some water flowing over the shallower Iceland-Faeroe Rise. ISOW has a low CFC concentrations and it has been estimated from these concentrations that ISOW resides behind the ridge for 45 years. As the water flows southward at the