Lecture 12 Flashcards
What are the 4 oceans of the world?
The Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic.
How many major seas are out there?
12.
What are the 4 parts of the Ocean as a Basin?
Continental shelf, continental slope, continental rise, and basin.
Ocean water is “briny” and contains 3% that are largely dissolved by salts. What are the 2 biggest components of all the salts in ocean water?
Chloride and Sodium.
How is salinity described mathematically?
g of salt per g of ocean water ~ 0.035 = 3.5% = 35 0/00
What does thermocline measure?
Temperature.
What does Halocline measure?
Salinity.
What does Pycnocline measure?
Density.
Why are the Tropics which are the warmest waters and also the saltiest?
Since there are a lot of sunlight at the tropics, the tropics tend to have a lot of heat due to radiation from the sun which increases evaporation of the ocean water which thus lowers the amount of water per gram of salt.
What controls ocean salinity?
Salinity is enhanced by evaporation of ocean water and formation of sea ice and glaciers. Salinity is reduced by sources of fresh waters from precipitation or river runoff.
What are the two unique factors that give oceans their currents?
Atmospheric winds give rise to the surface horizontal circulation (friction of the wind on the ocean). Variations in salinity give rise to the vertical exchange between the surface and deep waters.
What are the two components of ocean circulation?
The circulation of the surface layer (largely a wind-driven circulation) and the circulation of the deep ocean and the exchange of waters between the surface and deep ocean (referred to as thermohaline circulation
Surface circulation arises from…?
Atmospheric winds “pushing” on the surface waters modified by the Coriolis effect and continental boundaries.
What is a gyre?
A circular course of motion.
Upwelling
Rising waters from the deep ocean along the eastern boundaries of the gyres.
