EARTH 10 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Thermosphere, Energy Economics, High-Pressure Area
Document Summary
Ocean currents surface currents deeper currents upper 10% of the ocean largely driven by solar heating and winds deeper 90% of ocean largely driven by density differences: temperature and salinity(salt) differences - Wind: frictional coupling to the surface drags the water. Due to rotation of earth, water, air, and man-made objects are deflected: left in s. As earth rotates, different latitudes travel at different speeds changes in speed with hemisphere, right in n hemisphere latitude causes coriolis effect. The 90 degree net transport of a column of water by a combination of wind drag and. Clockwise from wind in n hemisphere, counterclockwise in s hemisphere. Ekman transport piles up surface water in some areas and removes it in other areas, Geostrophic flow producing variations in sea level, causing a gradient or slope. Ocean current then flows clockwise from west to east. Contact w/ atmosphere or other water masses. Winds from the continent blow sea ice away from shore.
