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42 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Pycnocline |
rapid density change with depth |
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Thermocline |
rapid temperature change with depth |
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Halocline |
rapid salinity change with depth |
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How deep does the ekman transport extend |
100 m, weaker at depth |
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How deep does the geostrophic flow extend |
1000 m |
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Current |
gflow |
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How do we measure the height of ocean surface |
satellites that shoot down signals and get info from ocean |
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Sverdrup dynamics |
even out and balance |
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WBC |
always on west, swiftest current |
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Deep water wave |
wavelength is less deep than depth |
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Shallow water wave |
wavelength is deeper than depth |
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Do stronger winds cause waves of longer or shorter wavelength |
longer wavelength=stronger wind, longer the wave the faster |
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Why don't wave crests intersect the coast at a sharp angle |
waves slow down where its shallow |
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Why are tsunamis shallow water waves even in the deepest ocean |
one huge wave, the wavelength is so much bigger than the depth of the ocean |
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Why does the moon cause larger tides than the sun |
the sun is so far away that it doesn't have a large affect on the tides |
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Why is there a fortnightly (two week) cycle in the tides |
the moon has a 2 week cycle |
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Just wind |
ekman transport |
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Ekman transport |
-movement of water relative to wind -amount of ekman is proportional to wind stress -causes surface waters to pile up or make depressions -90 to right in NH -90 to left in SH -stronger near equator |
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Coriolis |
-force due to earths rotation -affects things moving for more than a day -90 to right of motion in NH -90 to left in SH -stronger at poles, weaker at equator -to right of gflow in NH, left in SH |
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Pressure gradient force |
-force cause by differences in pressure at two given points -high to low -matches coriolis |
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Geostrophic flow |
-balance between PGF and coriolis -sverdrup dynamics -flows to right of PGF in NH -flow is to left of PGF in SH -stronger near equator -magnitude of gflow depends on the needed coriolis to counter the PGF |
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Temp in the ocean |
temp goes up, expands, density goes down |
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Why coriolis |
-its hard to keep track of a moving earth -easier to pretend its not rotating |
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Gflow circulation |
H-clockwise in NH L-counterclockwise in SH
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Gyre |
circular rotation in the ocean |
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Subtropical gyre |
-high pressure zone -clockwise in NH -counterclockwise in SH |
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Subpolar gyre |
-form at high latitudes -counterclockwise in NH around a low pressure area -surface currents move outward driving the ekman transport and upwelling of nutrient water from depth |
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Sverdrup dynamics |
-the idea that when ekman causes a mound, glow will try to lower it, when ekman causes a depression glow will raise the sea level -explains why mounds don't grow -balance out |
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Period |
how long it takes 2 consecutive crests/troughs to pass |
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Scatterometer |
wind forms ripples radar measures ripples and how fast they are occurring, measures wind |
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Altimeters |
measure seau surface height |
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How do we know the circulation at depth |
tracers -salt, temperature, tritium, CFCs |
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Tracers |
any water property that changes in ways that we can predict and understand |
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Trace of salinity |
deposits, salt comes mostly from erosion of land |
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Natural tracers vs manmade tracers |
natural things have been around forever, manmade things give us info cause we know when we added them |
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CFCs |
-freon-refrigerant -biology doesn't eat them -know exactly how much is in atmosphere and how to measure it |
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wind and waves |
wind causes ripples that grow, if length increases speed increases, when they reach same speed as wind they stop growing, when aptitude is greater than depth, peak goes over trough wave breaks |
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Wavelength |
trough to trough or crest to crest |
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Tides |
-caused by gravitational pull -stronger when full moon -tides are stretching force -spring (across) neap (90 degrees) |
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Trough |
valley between wave crests below average water level |
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Wave frequency |
number of waves passing a fixed point |
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Wave refraction |
slowing and bending of waves in shallow water |
