Global ocean circulation is a key process that controls planetary climate and directly impacts the seas around the UK and across the globe. This is a consequence of the vast quantities of heat, carbon and other critical tracers that are stored in the ocean, and are constantly transported around and between the major ocean basins.
BAS research has been at the forefront of understanding how polar processes influence global ocean circulation; for example, showing how mighty winds over the Southern Ocean add energy to the global ocean system and help the ocean absorb much of the carbon dioxide we emit. In the coming years, we will continue to reduce uncertainty concerning how the polar oceans will change due to both natural and anthropogenic processes, and what the regional and global climatic implications of these changes will be.