Parts of ocean Flashcards
insolation
amount of sun hitting earth
isotherm
lines of equal temp
ocean circulation
carry warm water to poles on west, cold water to equator on east
temp/depth relation
temp decreases with depth
mixed layer/surface layer
surface layer, heat by radiation, mixed by wind, driven by density
thermocline
temp gradient
deep water
below 1000m
tropics
permanently stratified thermocline, mixed layer separated from cold layer by thermocline
poles
no thermocline
temperate
seasonal thermocline due to storms, after winter thermocline weakens and temp decreases, comes back in spring
halocline
salinity gradient
density increases when…
salinity/pressure increase, temp decreases
pressure increases with…
depth
pycnocline
density gradient
transition layer between
surface and deep layer
isopycnals
lines of equal density
ocean layers
surface layer, pycnocline, deep layer
surface layer
100m, less dense top layer with dense below
pycnocline
transition layer between surface/deep
deep layer
poles water cools/sinks and flows to equator
saturation value
amount of gases water can hold at equilibrium
saturation/solubility relation
higher saturation gas higher solubility
solubility/saturation increases…
as salinity/temp decrease and pressure increases
supersaturated
when there’s more gas than should be
where are gases exchanged
surface layer
when gases diffuse
storms/waves
where gases come from
respiration/photosynthesis, both in and out ocean
where is most oxygen
most in surface layer, least in pycnocline
oxygen minimum layer
coincides with pycnocline, lots of organisms consuming oxygen, surface layer cant sink, 150m-1500m
anoxic water
contains no oxygen
amount of light entering ocean depends on
height of sun, smoothness of ocean
wavelength absorbed first
long
sound speed increases as
temp/press/salinity increase
sound and pycnocline
sound increases above/below, decreases in pycnocline
land/ocean evaporation/precipiation
land- precipitation exceeds, ocean- evaporation exceeds
