text: Eddy permitting and eddy resolving models are used to examine the effect of eddy saturation and eddy compensation in the ACC. In these models resolution is of great importance. Ocean observations do not have a high enough resolution to fully estimate the degree of eddy saturation and eddy compensation. Idealized studies show that the MOC response is more sensitive to model resolution than the ACC transport. A general conclusion in such numerical models is that southward eddy transport in combination with enhanced westerlies results in an increase in EKE.