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Oceanography Ch 07
Ocean Surface Currents
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Pycnocline | water layer with a large change in density with depth |
| Thermocline | water layer with a large change in temperature with depth |
| Halocline | water layer with a large change in salinity with depth |
| thermohaline circulation | vertical circulation caused by changes in density; driven by variations in temperature and salinity. |
| downwelling zones | sinking of water, usually the result of a surface convergence or an increase in density of water at the sea surface |
| upwelling zones | rising of water rich in nutrients toward the surface, usually the result of diverging surface currents |
| Caballing | mixing of two water types with identical densities but different temperatures and salinities; the resulting mixture is denser than its components |
| North Atlantic Deepwater | NADW sinks in the Arctic Ocean and moves southward...34.9 ‰ 2º - 4ºC |
| Antarctic Intermediate Water | AIW convergence of water at the equator...34.4 ‰ 5ºC |
| Antarctic Bottom Water | ABW sinks in the Antarctic Ocean and moves northward...34.8 ‰ -0.5ºC |
| Ekman transport | the total volume of water in the Ekman layer transported at right angles to the wind direction |
| Ekman spiral | wind blowing over the surface, water moves 45° to the right of the wind in the Northern Hemisphere. At depths, the water moves farther to the right with decreased speed, until 100 m, the water moves opposite to the wind direction. |
| Gyre | circular movement of water, larger than an eddy: usually applied to a bigger system |
| geostrophic flow | horizontal flow of water occurring when there is a balance between gravitational forces and the Coriolis effect. |
| Sverdrup | unit of measure to indicate current volume transport. 1 Sverdrup is equal to 1,000,000 cubic meters per second… |
| western intensification | the increase in speed of geostrophic currents as they move along the western boundary of an ocean basin |
| eddy | circular movement of water |
| California Current | on the eastern side of the Pacific Gyre… |
| Kuroshio Current | on the western side of the Pacific Gyre… |
| North Pacific Current | on the northern side of the Pacific Gyre… |
| Pacific gyre | major gyre in the Pacific Ocean… |
Created by:
Permian
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