For decades, the deep ocean has remained one of the least understood parts of our planet. A collaborative research effort has now produced the most detailed map yet of the slow currents that circulate thousands of metres below the surface.
These currents act like a vast, sluggish conveyor belt, redistributing heat and carbon across the globe over centuries. Understanding their behaviour is essential for building accurate climate models, the researchers say.
The team combined satellite data with thousands of autonomous floats that drift with the water and periodically surface to transmit their measurements. The result is a resource that scientists around the world can now draw on to refine their predictions.