Editing Downwelling (section)

== Buoyancy-forced downwelling ==
[[Buoyancy]] is lost through cooling, [[evaporation]], and [[brine rejection]] through [[sea ice]] formation. Buoyancy loss occurs on many spatial and temporal scales. 

In the open ocean, there are regions where cooling and [[mixed layer]] deepening occurs at night, and the ocean re-stratifies during the day. On annual cycles, widespread cooling begins in the fall, and convective mixed layer deepening can reach hundreds of meters into the ocean interior.  In comparison, the wind-driven mixed layer depth is limited to 150 m.

Large evaporation events can cause [[convection]]; however, [[latent heat]] loss associated with evaporation is usually dominant and in the winter, this process drives [[Mediterranean Sea]] deep water formation. In select locations - [[Greenland Sea]], [[Labrador Sea]], [[Weddell Sea]], and [[Ross Sea]] - deep convection (>1000 m) ventilates ([[Oxygenation (environmental)|oxygenates]]) most of the deep water of the global ocean and drives the [[thermohaline circulation]].<ref name="Elsevier, AP-2011" />