OCG 301 Lecture 8: Ocean Circulation Part 2
Document Summary
In the deep-ocean layers, water density variation, not wind, is the primary cause of current. The movement of water due to different densities is thermohaline circulation. When what becomes dense, it sinks, flowing downward. This means water in some other place must rise to replace it, causing an upward flow. Because the ocean is density stratified, the densest water is at the bottom. Ts diagrams represent the temp and salinity measured at some location and depth. Water masses are regions of water that have similar physical properties. Central water: to the bottom of the thermocline. Bottom water : in contact with seafloor. Properties are moved around the globe by ocean currents. Patterns twist clockin in the n hemisphere. Patterns twist clockwise in the s hemisphere. When water interacts with its environment , it changes: so water masses aren"t stagnant and unchanging. Warm, light water can cool and become dense. Evaporation, precipitation and melting glaciers affect salinity.
