Climate change. The impact of climate change and its huge human and economic impact have become evident in the last years. In this context it is unquestionable the importance of the ocean within the climate system and particularly the Global Conveyor Belt or Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC). This project is focused on studying three key mechanisms controlling the intensity of the MOC, capable of being tipping points or corners in the behaviour of this current. Each of the three mechanisms on its own may be a factor capable of controlling major changes, or corners, in the intensity of the MOC. Such changes may be intermittent, and rather fast, therefore the acronym of the project: TIC-MOC. An important issue is that each of these subsystems may already be undergoing intermittent changes. Therefore, a better understanding on the way these sub-system switch from one state to another may indeed help understand permanent past (and anticipate future) changes.

Technology transfer. During the last years, the international oceanographic community has focused many of its activities to implement a global ocean observing system, similar to that already working for the atmosphere. This system will imply a new market, given that new methods and equipment should be developed in order to supply the needed data. We are committed to continue developing floats with CTD and other sensors located at different ocean depths, improving their autonomy and the data transfer procedures. One important additional aim is to be able to make our own technology, including high-precision sensors, in a near future. There is also a serious commitment to analyze the gathered data together with other research groups, and to make the data available to the national and international community very shortly after the finalization of the project.

Collaboration with national groups. TIC-MOC should be instrumental to enhance collaborations with other research groups in the Spanish community. In particular, we envision the project will foster close collaboration with the physical Oceanography groups at the Universidad de Málaga and at the Laboratorio de Cádiz of Instituto Español de Oceanografía. These groups are carrying out project INGRES-3 (CTM2010-21229) which shall finish in December 2013. The main objective of INGRES-3 is to monitor the flow of Mediterranean Water through the Strait of Gibraltar, but also aims at improving our knowledge on the evolution of these waters in the Gulf of Cádiz. Therefore we will be able to complement our numerical and experimental efforts (our cruise west of Gibraltar is proposed for summer 2013) with these two excellent teams.

Involvement in international programs. This project shall permit the Spanish researchers to get permanently involved in two major international programs: PIRATA and SAMOC. On one hand the

continued activities in the western equatorial Atlantic, both through the 4ºS section and the deployment of instrumented drifters, will permit the group to become a permanent member of the PIRATA program. On the other hand the group has been invited to become an active member of the Southern Atlantic MOC (SAMOC) and the proposed activities, particularly the 40ºS section, have been encouraged by the SAMOC coordinator and steering committee.

In summary, the project will carry out numerous measurements of physical and biochemical variables, many in collaboration with specialists of other oceanographic branches, hence favouring interdisciplinar research and the optimal utilization of resources and large facilities. The project faces a topic of utmost transcendence for the future of humankind which so far has received relatively little attention. This will allow us to perform state-of-the-art research that is currently carried out by a few excellence teams. This shall also generate continued exchange and interaction with other national and international teams, and will enhance the chances of getting additional European and international funding.