GEOS 170A1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Ocean Current, Longshore Drift, Coriolis Force

• School: University of Arizona
• Department: Geosciences
• Course: GEOS 170A1
• Professor: Martin Pepper

Document Summary

Recap: atmospheric circulation, global distribution of deserts & forests, earth"s salt water = 97% How does air circulation effect surface water: wind waves, along coast: longshore transport, along coast: upwelling, along coast: downwelling, globally: giant ocean gyres. Gyres: water warms along equator (from sun!, warm water heads north in northern hemisphere and heads south in. Do you think plate tectonics shape ocean circulation: yes, closing of panama isthmus shaped climate and us, sent warm water north with moisture, moisture gave snow and ice closing land bridge. Water & heat capacity: heat capacity (hc) = how much heat needed to change the temperature, water has a high hc, can absorb (and store) a lot of heat, 93. 4% of global warming goes to the ocean. Ocean circulation: gyres: oceanic circulation moves warm water from the equator towards the poles, and takes heat with it, gulf stream = 30% of sun"s energy in europe. Still water at depth: temperature, nutrients, dissolved gases.