Thermohaline Circulation Flashcards
What happens when water sinks?
T and S become fixed
What are the different water types/masses?
Deep, intermediate, central
Where has ocean water spent the most time?
Polar regions
What is deep ocean circulation?
motion is driven by density differences between water masses.
Why is thermohaline circulation difficult to study?
Deep, high pressure and very slow moving
How does temperature decrease?
With latitude and depth
What is solar heating?
It offsets high evaporation - lense of warm salty water >10 degrees
Antarctic bottom water?
Very cold and salty - densest water in the oceans
North Atlantic deep water?
High rate of production
Deep thermohaline currents?
deep water masses only form in polar regions and shallow basins. Dense water forms and is trapped by a sill.
Global circulation
Driven by processes in the North Atlantic
density increases and water sinks
deep water flows back to the pacific and indian oceans
deep water upwells and warms
cycle = 1000 yrs
Mediterranean sea circulation?
80-100 yrs
evaporation
saline and denser to the east
