A&O SCI M105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Ocean Current, Carbon Cycle, Chlorophyll
28 Sep 2016
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Document Summary
The oceans of our planet: 70% of surface area, 95% of all water, 50% of photosynthesis. Fundamental processes in the earth sciences are recorded in the chemical composition of the ocean: 2. The processes of interest span wide space and time scales: 3. Carbon dioxide is increasing in the atmosphere and oceans. Vertical profiles of elements in the north pacific ocean: hints of processes that happen in the ocean. Enormous information potential: 70+ elements, 260 isotopes (78 radioactive) Help to test and deepen our understanding. Chemistry= physics + biology: surface temperature: temperature reflects ocean circulation (distribution: blue=cold, red=warm, chlorophyll: chlorophyll reflects ocean biological activity (blue= low concentration of chlorophyll, red= high concentration of chlorophyll) Global atmosphere-ocean co2 exchange: where co2 is entering or leaving ocean (blue=entering, red=leaving)
