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Stratification occurs in all ocean basins and also in other water bodies. Stratified layers are a barrier to the mixing of water, which impacts the exchange of heat, carbon, oxygen and other nutrients. [1] The surface mixed layer is the uppermost layer in the ocean and is well mixed by mechanical (wind) and thermal (convection) effects.
Computer models of ocean circulation increasingly place most of the deep upwelling in the Southern Ocean, associated with the strong winds in the open latitudes between South America and Antarctica. [28] Direct estimates of the strength of the thermohaline circulation have also been made at 26.5°N in the North Atlantic, by the UK-US RAPID ...
The surface mixed layer is the uppermost layer in the ocean and is well mixed by mechanical (wind) and thermal (convection) effects. Due to wind driven movement of surface water away from and towards land masses, upwelling and downwelling can occur, breaking through the stratification in those areas, where cold nutrient-rich water rises and ...
A thermocline (also known as the thermal layer or the metalimnion in lakes) is a distinct layer based on temperature within a large body of fluid (e.g. water, as in an ocean or lake; or air, e.g. an atmosphere) with a high gradient of distinct temperature differences associated with depth.
Ocean temperatures more than 20 metres below the surface vary by region and time. They contribute to variations in ocean heat content and ocean stratification. [11] The increase of both ocean surface temperature and deeper ocean temperature is an important effect of climate change on oceans. [11]
Thermohaline staircases are patterns that form in oceans and other bodies of salt water, characterised by step-like structures observed in vertical temperature and salinity profiles; the patterns are formed and maintained by double diffusion of heat and salt. The ocean phenomenon consists of well-mixed layers of ocean water stacked on top of ...
The ocean skin temperature is defined as the temperature of the water at 20 μm depth. This means that the SST skin is very dependent on the heat flux from the ocean to the atmosphere. This results in diurnal warming of the sea surface, high temperatures occur during the day and low temperatures during the night (especially with clear skies and ...
Plot of temperature and salinity in the Arctic Ocean at 85,18 north and 117,28 east dated Jan. 1st 2010. [4] In the graphical representation, three layers can be discerned: About 50 m (160 ft) of low salinity water "swimming" on top of the ocean. The temperature is −1.8 °C (28.8 °F), which is very near to the freezing point.