Lecture 9- Ocean Circulation Flashcards
1
Q
wind belts
A
alternate direction
2
Q
primary wind belts
A
- polar easterlies
- westerlies
- northeast/ southeast trades
3
Q
wind belt (0-30)
A
northeast trades
4
Q
wind belt (30-60)
A
westerlies
5
Q
wind belt (60-90)
A
polar easterlies
6
Q
wind belt (0-30 S)
A
southeast trades
7
Q
wind belt (30S - 60S)
A
westerlies
8
Q
wind belt (60S - 90)
A
polar easterlies
9
Q
ocean surface temperature
A
- warmest water along the equator in the western ocean basins
- coldest water along the pole
- tongue of cold water in the eastern equatorial region
10
Q
Atlantic ocean temperature at depth
A
- warm thin surface layer
- cold thick deep layer
- thermocline separates warm and cold layers
11
Q
ocean surface salinity
A
- saltiest water in the subtropics
- Atlantic considerably more salty than the other oceans
- North Pacific the freshest of all regions
12
Q
Atlantic Ocean salinity at depth
A
- high salinity in surface ocean
- deep ocean salinity more uniform
13
Q
rotation of subtropical gyres
A
- clockwise in the northern hemisphere
- counter-clockwise in the southern hemisphere
14
Q
subpolar gyres
A
- rotate counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere
- absent in the southern hemisphere
15
Q
Antarctic circumpolar current
A
moves eastward around the Antarctic continent
