Large scale circulation and convective buoyancy losses

In modern oceans, the stratification of water in polar regions is often set by the salinity concentration, allowing for deep convective events when heat losses at the surface are particularly strong. In turn, convection allows for larger heat fluxes at the air-sea interface as warmer deep water is moved upward. Those convective enhanced buoyancy losses are studied by means of a two-dimensional Boussinesq model of the overturning circulation, and their possible feedbacks are investigated. Possible implications for past climates are discussed, as the salinity stratification could have dominated large portions of the ocean volume.