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What does mid-ocean ridge block and where?
AABW near equator
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How do subtropical gyres affect deep ocean?
Location of gyre results in permanent, deeper thermacline.
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What are surface flows dominated by? What direction do they travel in? What directions is deep ocean circulation?
Surface flows are dominated by subtropical gyres: move from east to west.
Deep ocean circulations move North and South.
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Where is North Atlantic Deep Water formed? (2)
Where does it go? What's special about it?* How is it distinguished from AABW?
Formed in Norwegian/Greenland Sea
Moves South and is most ubiquitous. Most voluminous deep water mass in the world. NADW is distinguished from AABW bc of NADW's has higher salinity & temp.
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Which deep water mass is oxygen rich? As it moves, what happens to its oxygen content?
Who has higher O2 conc in deep water: pacific or atlantic. Why?
NADW. As it moves south, loses O2 content.
Atlantic has higher O2 content bc it is more mobile, Pacific deep water is older.
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Why are zones of divergence frequently highly productive?
upwelling of nutrient rich water --> phytoplankton blooms
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How are changes in atmospheric and oceanic circulation linked along equatorial Pacific?
El Nino - when trade winds decrase, there is a decrease in pressure gradient. Thermocline relaxes and upwells warm water --> nutrient depleted.
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Which currents are often associated with coastal upwelling? (4)
California, Peru, Canary, Benguala currents
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In what pressure system and what type of wind does upwelling occur? What happens to the thermocline, surface layer and pycnocline?
Low pressure --> cyclonic wind --> upwelling.
Higher thermocline, thinner surface layer, shallower pycnocline.
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If you curl fingers in direction of winds and you point out, is it upwelling or downwelling?
POINT OUT = UPWELLING.
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In what pressure system and what type of wind does downwelling occur? What happens to the thermocline, surface layer and pycnocline?
Where especially does this occur?
High pressure system --> anticyclonic wind --> downwelling --> lowe rthermocline.
Thicker surface layer, deeper pycnocline.
Areas where surface water density is increased by cooling/evaporation.
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Where are principle areas of open ocean divergences and convergences? (2,1)
Divergences: 1. Band that parallels equator between N and S equatorial currents 2. Band around antarctica bt Antarctic circumpolar current and eastward coastal flow around continent
Convergences: 1. center of each subtropical suface current gyres
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What two things lead to Ekman transport offshore?
Anticyclonic winds around atmospheric high pressure systems
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