Vocab Quiz 2 Flashcards
Boundary layer
A layer of fluid near a surface, where flow is affected by viscous properties of the fluid. At the surface, fluid velocity must be zero, and the boundary layer is a thin film that depends on surface texture, fluid velocity in the “mainstream of flow,” and fluid mass properties such as salinity.
Conductivity
The measure of salinity of ocean water
Coriolis effect
The deflection of air or water bodies, relative to the solid earth beneath, as a result of the earth’s eastward rotation.
Density
Grams of seawater in 1 cubic cm of fluid.
Dynamic viscosity
A measure of molecular stickiness of a fluid, or a measure of resistance of a fluid to deform when force is applied.
Ekman transport
Movement of surface water at an angle from the wind, as a result of the Coriolis effect
El Niño-Southern Oscillatio (enso)
Condition in which warm surface water moves into the eastern Pacific, collapsing upwelling and increasing surface-water temperatures and precipitation along the west coasts of North and South America.
Gyres
Major cyclonic surface current systems in the oceans.
Heat of vaporization
The amount of heat required to convert a unit mass of water at its boiling point into vapor without any increase in temperature.
Hydrogen bonds
A chemical bond with a hydrogen atom between two negatively charged atoms (e.g., oxygen).
Kinematic viscosity
The dynamic viscosity divided by water density.
Laminar flow
The movement of a fluid where movement of the entire fluid is regular and with parallel streamlines.
Major elements
Those present in seawater in concentrations greater than 100 parts per million (ppm). Chlorine, sodium, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, and potassium
Minor elements
Are present at concentrations between 1 and 100 ppm. Bromine, carbon, strontium, boron, silicon, and fluorine
Oxygen minimum layers
A depth zone, usually below the thermocline, in which dissolved oxygen is minimal.
Pressure drag
A difference in pressure upstream and downstream of an object in a flow.
Pycnoclines
Depth zone within which seawater density changes.
Residence time
the time a unit of a substance spends in a specified location in the environment (eg., the residence time of sodium in the Antarctic bottom water).
Seafloor spreading
The horizontal movement of oceanic crust.
Reynolds number (re)
A number that represents the relative importance of viscous forces and inertial forces in a fluid. As Re increases, inertial forces become more important. In seawater, Re increases with increasing water velocity and with the size of the object in the water.
Specific gravity
The ratio of density of one substance of fluid to the density of a standard fluid, in this case, water is the standard for liquids and solids
Specific heat
It takes 1 calorie to raise temperature of a gram of pure water by 1 degree Celsius
Thermocline
Depth zone within which temperature changes maximally.
Upwelling
The movement of nutrient-rich water from a specified depth to the surface, usually driven by surface winds.
Westerlies
Persistent eastward-equatorward winds in midlatitudes in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
