EAS100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 22: Thermohaline Circulation, Equatorial Counter Current, Ocean Current

• School: University of Alberta
• Department: Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
• Course: EAS100
• Professor: Korhan Ayranci

Document Summary

World ocean : mainly pacific/atlantic/indian/southern oceans plus smaller bodies. Maximum: 11km (mariana trench in the western pacific) Echo sounders measure ocean depth by generating a pulse and measuring the. Salinity : measure of the sea"s saltiness, parts per thousand (o/oo) Composition of seawater stays roughly constant over time (extraction is equal to input) Salts are excluded from ice, leaving saltier water. Cold water is denser so it sinks. Saline water is denser so it sinks. Provides a link between the atmosphere and the deep ocean. Propels a global thermohaline (heat+salinity) circulation system. Results from the influence of angular momentum of bodies on the surface of a rotating. A body on the equator goes end-over-end but does not rotate. Angular momentum is highest at the poles, decreasing to zero for objects at the equator. Causes a deflection in the path of a moving object. Every moving body is subject to the coriolis force (water, air, etc)