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Bio 361- marine science > Ocean Circulation > Flashcards

Ocean Circulation Flashcards

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Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

what dictates ocean circulation?

A

wind and currents

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2
Q

what do ocean contain?

A

large currents. gyres and eddies

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3
Q

what are currents?

A

continuous streams of water than are both permanent channels and also periodic

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4
Q

what are boundary currents?

A

very large ocean currents that run along continent
- Gulf stream

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5
Q

what are gyres?

A

massive circular or spiraling circulation patterns that are thousands of km in diameter that are bordered by permanent boundary currents
-> Beaufort gyre

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6
Q

what affects gyres?

A

Coriolis effect and wind

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7
Q

what are eddies?

A

smaller circular pockets of water that break off from Boundary current
- temporary
- cold or warm depending on boundary current
- important for dispersal of animals and plankton

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8
Q

how does the Gulf Stream affect NY?

A
  • brings warmer water to coast
  • nutrient influx
  • alters ecosystem
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9
Q

what is an example of what occurs in gyres?

A

loggerhead sea turtles stay within North Atlantic subtropical gyre

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10
Q

what warms the oceans?

A

sun
- warms the surface of ocean
- ocean warm atmosphere
- some of the radiation is absorbed and some of it is reflected (greenhouse effect)

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11
Q

where is there a surplus of radiation?

A

40N and 40S (equator)

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12
Q

what drives the general circulation of the atmosphere?

A

the sun

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13
Q

where is the surplus of heat energy transferred by?

A

atmosphere and oceans to higher latitudes

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14
Q

what happens when hot air rises at the equator?

A

increased precipitation
- air is less dense
- lose of moisture = lots of precipitation

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15
Q

what kind of cell is at the equator?

A

hadley

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16
Q

what happens with rising air?

A

takes pressure off the earth

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17
Q

what happens when air is cool?

A

more dense and falls

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18
Q

what kind of cells are the closest to the poles?

A

polar

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19
Q

what kind of cell is in between hadley and polar?

A

ferrel

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20
Q

what is the polar front?

A

extra cold area between ferrel and polar

21
Q

what is horse latitudes?

A
  • air goes down and dissipates
  • not windy
  • boats were moving so slowly that they threw the horses overboard
22
Q

what are doldrums?

A

no wind bc the air is heated and only moves up

23
Q

why is the wind curved?

A

bc of the Coriolis effect

24
Q

in what direction do objects deflect in the northern hemisphere?

A

right
- increasing deflection of moving water parcel to the right

25
Q

in what direction do objects deflect in the southern hemisphere?

A

left
- increasing deflection to the left

26
Q

is there deflection at the equator?

A

no

27
Q

why is there deflection?

A
  • the earth is moving faster than the water so there is deflection -> earth’s rotation (objects at equator move faster than objects at poles
  • gravity (centrifugal forces) - objects are pulled towards earth by gravity and objects are spun fast around earth by centrifugal forces
28
Q

how is energy transferred from winds to the upper layer of the ocean?

A

through friction between the ocean and atmosphere at the sea-surface

29
Q

what causes ocean currents?

A

friction of atmospheric currents on ocean

30
Q

where does atmospheric circulation occur?

A

at the surface of earth

31
Q

what makes circulation patterns more chaotic?

A

continents
- westerlies and trade winds are still evident

32
Q

what drives ocean currents?

A

winds

33
Q

what shapes water?

A

land
- water contained by land creating circular patterns
- more inertia in water than air

34
Q

how many subtropical gyres are there?

A

5

35
Q

what kind of currents are in subtropical gyres?

A

strong western boundary currents - warm water away from the equator
-> Gulf stream, Brazil currents, Kuroshio current, East Australian currents, Agulhas current

36
Q

what kind of water are in strong eastern boundary currents?

A

cold water
- from poles to the equator

37
Q

what is Ekman Transport?

A
  • deflection of water 90 degrees
  • bc of friction (of wind on water and water layers on water layers)
  • leads to upwellings
38
Q

what causes each successive sheet of water to deflect relative to sheet above?

A

Coriolis effect

39
Q

what generates an Ekman transport?

A

wind along a coast

40
Q

what is a result of an upwelling?

A

nutrient-rich water deeper waters move to the surface to replace water transported offshore

41
Q

what are in deep waters and the result?

A

more nutrients and with sunlight the new nutrients fuels phytoplankton blooms which can support huge fish abundances making them productive

42
Q

El Nino

A

southern oscillation
- equatorial current “slackens” - unknown
- warm water stays and slooshes back
- stratification of water means layers = very shallow or no thermocline
- no upwelling, no nutrients brought to surface = poor fisheries

43
Q

La Nina

A
  • equatorial current = warm water
  • strong upwelling off Peru
  • steep thermocline - cold deep water brought to the surface
  • deep water brings nutrients to surface
  • generates phytoplankton blooms, increasing zooplankton, which means lots of food for fish = good fisheries
44
Q

what occurs during La Nina?

A
  • trade winds blow across Pacific (E to W)
  • generate steep thermocline and strong upwelling off Peru
45
Q

what occurs during El Nino?

A
  • warm winds blowing down along South America coast
  • warm water current flow E
  • thermocline drops = stratification
46
Q

thermohaline circulation

A
  • high latitude surface waters have low salinity and low temp -> high density
  • dense water sinks
  • moves to lower latitudes at depth
  • generates a massive ocean river from Arctic to Antarctic and back
47
Q

what is thermohaline circulation called?

A

global conveyor belt

48
Q

how does cold water reheat in the south?

A

the upwelling brings the cold water upwards to reheat

Bio 361- marine science (20 decks)

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