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MAR 270 > Surface waters > Flashcards

Surface waters Flashcards

1
Q

What is ENSO?

A

periods of climate conditions centered in tropical pacific oceans.

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2
Q

What is the frequency of ENSO?

A

3-7 years

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3
Q

How long does ENSO lasts?

A

lasts 1 year

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4
Q

What does ENSO cause?

A

disruptions to normal atmosphere/ ocean interactions

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5
Q

What is a typical system?

A

movement of water from East to West.
deep water upwells to replace it keeping oceans cool along coast of South America

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6
Q

What is Southern Oscillation?

A

periodic reversal of low and high pressure areas in southern pacific

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7
Q

What happens to surface pressure in Indonesia?

A

low pressure becomes high

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8
Q

What happens to surface pressure in the pacific zone?

A

High pressure becomes low

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9
Q

What is El Nino?

A

wind driven reversal in the ocean current resulting in warm water moving toward America

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10
Q

What is El nina?

A

condition of colder than normal surface waters in the tropical pacific

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11
Q

What are consequences of El Nino?

A

decreased intensities of hurricanes in the Atlantic because jet stream is diverted South

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12
Q

What are global consequences of El Nino?

A

Northern USA has warmer winters
Dry areas of Peru and Ecuador have high rainfall
Indonesia/Austrailia/Phillipines have drought

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13
Q

What is MEI

A

Multivariate ENSO Index

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14
Q

How is MEI calculated?

A

from measurements of sea temperatures, level-pressure, and surface air temperatures to the Eastwest and North-south velocity of components of the trade winds and total amount of cloudiness

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15
Q

Where do currents occur?

A

Surface ocean= top 100m=10%
Deep Ocean=below 100m=90%

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16
Q

What is the driving force of currents?

A

Wind

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17
Q

What happens during the Elkman Spiral?

A

water is deflected by coriolis effect
Earth rotates further out from under
water appears to be deflected to a greater degree than overlying air

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18
Q

What is the Elkman Spiral?

A

Water is deflected to right in North hemisphere and left in Southern Hemisphere.

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19
Q

Average water motion is 90% from wind direction

A
20
Q

How is the North Equatorial current formed?

A

Northeast trade winds push water toward the west.

21
Q

How is the North Pacific current formed

A

by westerlies moving east to west

22
Q

How is the California and Kuroshio Current formed?

A

water flows towards areas where water has been removed

23
Q

What currents make the Noth Pacifc Gyre?

A

North Equatorial Current, North Pacific Current, California,Kuroshio current

24
Q

What is the principle of the continuity of flow?

A

A fluid flows so the next flux of liquid in or out of a given volume within the fluid is 0

25
Q

What forms the Antarctic Circumpolar Current?

A

Strong Westerlies

26
Q

Where does the Antarctic Circumpolar Current flow?

A

completly around the globe without interuption

27
Q

What does the Antarctic Circumpolar current provide?

A

mechanism of sharing and mixing among oceans

28
Q

How are fronts formed?

A

by Ekman wind convergence which channels the current between them

29
Q

What fronts are part of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current?

A

-Subtropical front
-Subantarctic front
-Polar/Antarctic front

30
Q

How is the speed of wind compared to the speed of currents?

A

currents are 1/100 speed of wind

31
Q
A
32
Q

How to measure volume of water transported by currents?

A

1SV=1 million cubic meters per second

33
Q

Geostrophic Flow?

A

horizontal flow of water occuring when there is a balance of coriolis and gravitational forces acting on water

34
Q

What is Western Intensification?

A

Increase in speed of geostrophic currents along the Western boundary of an Ocean Basin

35
Q

What are factors causing Western Intensification?

A
  1. Eastward turning of the Earth
  2. Increase of coriolis effect with latitude
  3. Changing direction of tradewinds and westerlies
  4. Friction between land masses and ocean water currents
36
Q

How do western currents compare to Eastern currents?

A

Western currents:Fast flowing, narrow
Eastern Currents: Slow, wide

37
Q

What are examples of western currents?

A

Gulf Stream
Kuroshio current

38
Q

What are examples of Eastern currents?

A

Canary current
California current

39
Q

What are permanent wind driven zones?

A

5 major convergent zones
3 major divergence zones
-related to ocean gyres and geostrophic currents
-lower productivity in downwelling areas

40
Q

What are meanders?

A

Oscillations and waves along boundary of current

41
Q

What are eddies?

A

Pockets of water moving in a circular motion.

42
Q

What are mesoscale eddies?

A

10-500km in diameter and persist for day-month timescales

43
Q

What do eddies do?

A

Stir the ocean until they dissipate due to fluid friction, loosing chemical and thermal energyand energy of motion to turbulence

44
Q

How do eddies cause verdical transport in low pressure North hemisphere?

A

Elkman transport of water away from the center to upwelling and nutrients.
(convergence, counterclockwise)

45
Q

How do eddies cause verdical transport in high pressure North hemisphere?

A

Elkman transport of water foward leads to downwelling
(divergence, clockwise)

46
Q

What are Seasonal wind driven zones?

A

Seasonal changes in wind pattern affect Ekman transport

47
Q

winds blowing along coastlines can generate…

A

Ekman transport of water foward or away from the coast

MAR 270 (16 decks)

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