Deep Ocean Flashcards
Direct Wind Drag
Causes convergence and piling up of surface waters around the polar front
Intermediate water
More dense than upper and surface water but less dense than deep sea water
Mediterranean water
Has the effects of its v. high salinity offset by a high temp therefore it only has INTERMEDIATE DENSITY
Characteristics of Mediterranean Water
High Salinity- 35.0-36.2%
High temperature- 8-10C
Pacific Subarctic Intermediate Water
Two principle original deep water masses
North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW)
Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW)
North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW)
- Formed by winter cooling of high salinity surface water in N. Atlantic
- Only moderately cold (2-5C) and highly saline (34.9%)
Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW)
- formed by sea ice freezing and is the most widespread of all types of ocean water and is found in all ocean basins
- very cold (-2 to 1ºC) but has only moderately high salinity (34.6 to34.7‰)
Formation of NADW
= a mixture from separate sources in the Norwegian and Greenland Seas and the Central Arctic
Formation of AABW
Generated by the formation of sea ice . The formation of sea ice increases the salinity of the residuum
Polynya
Continuing open water in a region of sea ice formation