This work explores the density-driven overturning circulation of the ocean using a process-oriented three-dimensional hydrodynamic model with a free sea surface. As expected, dense-water formation in polar regions creates a deep western boundary current (DWBC) spreading southward ward along the continental slope. Near the equator, the DWBC releases its water eastward into the ambient ocean to form a large upwelling zone. This upwelling is coupled with a slow westward surface recirculation feeding into a swift surface return flow along the western boundary that closes the mass budget. This recirculation pattern, which is fundamentally different to the Stommel-Arons model, is a consequence of geostrophic adjustment to anomalies of the surface pressure field that form under the influence of both coastal and equatorial Kelvin waves and Rossby waves. Based on the findings, the author presents a revised model of the ocean’s meridional overturning circulation to supersede earlier, incorrect suggestions.