Hay, William W. (1995) Cretaceous paleoceanography. Geologica Carpathica, 46 (5). pp. 257-266.

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Abstract

The modern ocean is comprised of four units: an equatorial belt shared by the two hemispheres, tropical subtropical anticyclonic gyres, mid-latitude belts of water with steep meridional temperature gradients, and polar oceans characterized by cyclonic gyres. These units are separated by lines of convergence, or fronts: The Early Cretaceous ocean closely resembled the modern ocean. The developing Atlantic was analogous to the modern Mediterranean and served as an Intermediate Water source for the Pacific. Because sea-ice formed seasonally in the Early Cretaceous polar seas, deep water formation probably took place largely in the polar region. In the Late Cretaceous, the high latitudes were warm and deep water moved from the equatorial region toward the poles, enhancing the ocean's capacity to transport heat poleward. The contrast between surface gyre waters and intermediate waters was less. -from Author

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