Central Themes of South Atlantic Circulation

The central problem of South Atlantic oceanography and paleoceanography is the exchange of heat between South and North Atlantic. More specifically, it is the nature of the North Atlantic heat piracy. Without this heat transfer, northern Europe would have an entirely less clement climate. The necessity to understand the operation of the Atlantic Heat Conveyor provides the rationale for studying both physical and historical oceanography of the South Atlantic. The study of present conditions allows a synoptic view of dynamic interaction of surface- and deep circulation, and associated productivity patterns. The study of past patterns provides clues to the range of possible states and rates of change, and to the long-term stability of the system.