Abstract
An infrared heating lamp has been used as the driving force in laboratory experiments simulating the thermohaline circulation of the world ocean. The radiative energy from the lamp absorbed at different depths in the laboratory tank, as well as the possible temperature effects, have been calculated. The results demonstrate that in the laboratory more than 50 % of the infrared radiation is absorbed within the upper 0.01 mm, more than 90 % within the upper 0.1 mm, and more than 99 % within the upper 1 mm, and that evidently most of the heat energy in the surface layer is quickly transported away by other physical processes.