Term
| 2 types of circulation in the ocean |
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Definition
| wind-driven and thermohaline circulation |
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Term
| wind blowing at the sea surface directly drives |
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Definition
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Term
| thermohaline circulation is driven by |
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Definition
| changing the density of water by changing temperature and/or salinity |
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Term
| wind-driven circulation is mostly limited to |
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Definition
| near-surface layer of the ocean |
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Term
| thermohaline circulation is responsible for |
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Definition
| ventilating the global ocean, impact is felt all the way at the bottom |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| eckman transport moves near surface water to the right |
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Definition
| (90) of the wind direction in the Northern hemisphere |
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Term
| eckman transport moves near surface water to the left |
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Definition
| (90) of the wind direction in the Souther Hemisphere |
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Term
| in eckman layer, wind stress acting on the water particle is |
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Definition
| balanced by coriolis force |
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Term
| if a low atmosphereic pressure system is located over the open ocean, resulting eckman transport moves |
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Definition
| near-surface water AWAY FROM the center of low pressure causing DIVERGENCE |
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Term
| if a high atmospheric pressure system is located over the open ocean, resulting eckman transport moves |
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Definition
| water TOWARD the center of the low pressure causing CONVEGENCE |
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Term
| upwelling will result, bringing |
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Definition
| sub-surface water toward surface |
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Term
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Definition
| pushing down surface water toward subsurface |
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Term
| winds blowing along a coast cuase either upwelling or downwelling depending on the |
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Definition
| wind direction relative to the orientaion of the coast |
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Term
| looking into the downward direction, if the land is located on your LEFT |
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Definition
| the resulting eckman transport moves the warm near-surface water AWAY FROM the coast, cuasing coastal UPWELLING in the N. hemisphere |
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Term
| looking into the downward direction, if the land is located to your RIGHT, the resulting eckman transport moves |
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Definition
| the warm near-surface water TOWARD the coast, causing coastal DOWNWELLING in N. hempisphere |
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Term
| In southern hemisphere, if the land is located to your RIGHT, the resulting eckman transport moves |
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Definition
| the warmer near-surface water AWAY FROM the coast, causing coastal UPWELLING |
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Term
| in the souther hemisphere, if the land is located to your LEFT, the resulting eckan transport moves the |
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Definition
| warmer near surface water TOWARD the coast, causing coastal DOWNWELLING |
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Term
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Definition
| colder nutrient-rich sub-surface water closer to the surface where sufficient sunlight is avaliable, brining about higher biological productivity |
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Term
| eckman transport in response to the usual trade winds blowing from east to west near the equator |
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Definition
| moves near-surface water away from the equator in both hemispheres, bringing colder and nutrient-rich sub-surface water closer to sea surface |
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Term
| if the direction of the wind reverses, the resulting eckman transport moves |
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Definition
| near-surface water toward the equator, causing downwelling |
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Term
| often a tongue of cold surface water is found |
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Definition
| in the eastern part of the atlantic and pacific ocean |
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Term
| cold tongue is absent in western part of the asin is due to |
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Definition
the accumulation of warm near-surface water by the trade wind
the resulting warm surface water is very thick in the western basin
even equitorial upwelling can't bring colder sub-surface water very close to the surface |
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Term
| ( geostrophic adjustment) any distrubance in sea level field will undergo an adjustment process until |
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Definition
| geostrophic current is achieved |
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Term
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Definition
| when pressure gradient due to sea level slope is balanced by coloris force |
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Term
| important to know sea level slope because |
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Definition
| one can estimate current speed due to geostrophic current |
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Term
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Definition
in subtropics, a subtropical high pressure system in the atmosphere is located
northern half= westerly winds
southern half= easterly trade winds |
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Term
| eckman transport resulting from subtropical gyre wind pattern causes |
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Definition
| convergence below this high pressure system |
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Term
| eckman transport resulting from subtropical gyre wind pattern causes |
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Definition
| convergence below this high pressure system |
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Term
| resulting geosrophic current flows CLOCKWISE in the |
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Definition
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Term
| resulting geostrophic current flows COUNTERCLOCKWISE |
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Definition
| in the SOUTHERN hemisphere |
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Term
| eastern boundary currents and western boundary currents are generally |
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Definition
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Term
| western boundary currents are |
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Definition
| stronger because magnitude of coloris force changes with latitute |
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Term
| Antarctic circumpolar current (ACC) |
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Definition
| steady unimpeded westerly wind blowing north of the Antarctic continent drives ACC which carries the largest transport of any currents |
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Term
| ACC is also a geostrophic current responding to |
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Definition
the cooling near the antarctic
its deep |
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Term
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Definition
| volume of water with distinct temperature and salinity characteristics |
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Term
| ocean atmosphere interaction at sea surface |
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Definition
| controls thermohaline circulation |
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Term
| tremendous cooling taking place near Antarctic continent produces |
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Definition
| the heaviest water mass in the world, Antarctic Bottom Water |
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Term
| Antarctic Bottom Water (ABW) |
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Definition
heaviest water mass in the world
mainly in the Weddell Sea and some over the continental self in the Ross Sea |
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Term
| once formed, ABW flows northward following |
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Definition
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Term
| strong winter-time cooling in the Norwegian Sea produces |
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Definition
| North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) partly due to the fact that surface water in the North Atlantic is relatively salty and when childded it becomes heavy |
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Term
| salty surface water in north atlantic is due to |
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Definition
| strong evaporation in the north atlantic and a salty water flowing out of mediterranean sea |
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Term
| north pacific ocean where no deep water is formed because |
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Definition
| north pacific receives excess precipitation (fresher surface water) |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| once meeting ABW coming from the south |
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Definition
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Term
| Antartctic Intermediate Water (AIW) |
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Definition
north of antarctic continent,
cooling at the sea surface produces AIW which sinks to intermediate depth because it is not heavy enough to reach deep depths |
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Term
| once AIW sinks, it will move |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| higher dissolved oxygen content (formed at sea surface) |
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Term
| Arctic Intermediate Water |
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Definition
| Counterpart of AIW in the northern hemisphere |
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Term
| global thermohaline circulation |
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Definition
starting from north atlantic
reaches north pacific |
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Term
| takes approximately 100 years for NADW to travel from |
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Definition
| the formation region in the north atlantic to the north pacific |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| measuring concentrations of man-made chemicals tracers such as freon and radioactive tracers such as tritium |
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Term
north atlantic is
north pacific is
indian ocean |
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Definition
saltiest
freshest
somewhere bewteen |
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Term
| average temperature of all ocean water is close to |
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Definition
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Term
| oceanic eddies or rings are |
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Definition
| oceanic counterpart of weather systems in the atmostphere |
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Term
| oceanic eddies are much ______ than atmospheric eddies |
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Definition
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Term
| first systematic large scale field experiment to study turbulent nature of ocean was |
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Definition
| MODE (Mid-Ocean Dynamics Experiemtn) in North Atlantic |
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Term
| often gulf stream becomes unstable and develops |
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Definition
| meanders and subsequently forms rings (or eddies) |
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Term
| rings formed to the north of the gulf stream are called |
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Definition
| warm core rings (contain warm water of sargasso sea) |
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Term
| rings formed to the south of the gulf stream are called |
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Definition
| cold core rings (contain cold water coming from the north of the gulf stream) |
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Term
| eddies play important role in mixing |
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Definition
| different water masses and transfer heat away from the tropics |
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Term
| driving forces for both types of circulation are located at the |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| divergence at the sea surface leads to |
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Definition
| upwelling of colder water |
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Term
| convergence at the sea surface leads to |
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Definition
| downwelling of warm surface water |
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Term
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Definition
| eckman transport moves water toward the coast |
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Term
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Definition
| eckman transport moves water away from the coast |
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Term
| how to figure out coastal upwelling/downwelling |
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Definition
1: identify location
2: identify the direction of eckman transport
3: toward the cost or away from coast |
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Term
| easterly trade winds force |
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Definition
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Term
| cold tongue in eastern equatorial pacific contributes signifcantly toward |
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Definition
| global biological productivity |
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Term
| wind blowing at the sea surface creates |
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Definition
| undulations in the sea surface |
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Term
| strong currents such as the gulf stream often are unstable and form |
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Definition
| meanders. some meanders become eddies and rings |
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Term
| because of the presence of the coriolis force it is difficult to mix |
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Definition
| different water masses in the ocean and different air masses in the atmosphere |
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Term
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Definition
similar to atmospheric eddies
contribute toward poleward heat transport
contribute toward mixing of water masses across fronts
contribute toward global water budget |
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Term
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Definition
| loop current rings which migrates to the western gulf of mexico and eventually decays there |
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Term
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Definition
subtropical--ocean dominated by subtropical gyre
maintained by subtropical high pressure system and its associated with wind
higher sea level in the middle of a basin |
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Term
| powerful western boundary currents flow along |
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Definition
| the western boundaries of ocean basins in both hemispheres |
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Term
| what currents are found within gyres |
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Definition
western boundary current
eastern boundary current |
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Term
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Definition
| narrow, deep fast currents found at western boundaries of ocean basins |
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Term
| eastern boundary currents |
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Definition
| cold, shallow and broad and boundaries aren't well defined |
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Term
| water mass is always formed at |
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Definition
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Term
| each water mass has distinct characteristics including |
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Definition
| temperature, salinity and other water properties |
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Term
| ocean is density stratified with the densest water |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
surface water
central water
intermediate water
deep water
bottom water |
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Term
| deep zone comes into contract with atmosphere in the |
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Definition
| polar region where heavy cold water filling the deep zone is formed |
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Term
| spreading of various water masses can be traced by |
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Definition
| man-made tracers such as tritium and CFCs used a coolants in refrigerators and air conditions |
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Term
| why the pacific ocean is not becoming fresher while the atlantic ocean is not becoming saltier |
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Definition
large scaled ocean circulation redistributes excess freshwater and salt
ocean circulation moves the salty water from atlantic and eventually to pacific
in return it moves the fresher water from pacific and eventually into atlantic
indian ocean lies in the passage way between these two |
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Term
| in the deepest part of any major ocean basin |
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Definition
| the heaviest water is found (ABW) antarctic bottom water |
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Term
| role of oceanic circulation |
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Definition
contribute toward global heat budget
contribute toward global freshwater budget
affect global climate |
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