The 2013 NOVA episode "Earth From Space"[1] gives a really good explanation of how these conveyor belt currents work, and has some beautiful computer generated graphics that depict the microcurrents in the oceans that they're able to build because of the data collection from satellites. I re-watch it every couple years, and this story prompted me to start watching it again just now.
[1]: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/earth-from-space/