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An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of seawater generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. [1] Depth contours, shoreline configurations, and interactions with other currents influence a current's direction and ...
Ocean dynamics define and describe the flow of water within the oceans. Ocean temperature and motion fields can be separated into three distinct layers: mixed (surface) layer, upper ocean (above the thermocline), and deep ocean. Ocean dynamics has traditionally been investigated by sampling from instruments in situ. [1]
The water parcel will overshoot its original equilibrium position and this disturbance will set off an internal gravity wave. Munk (1981) notes, "Gravity waves in the ocean's interior are as common as waves at the sea surface-perhaps even more so, for no one has ever reported an interior calm." [1]
This mixing is what enables the convection between ocean layers, and thus, deep water currents. [1] In the 1920s, Sandström's framework was expanded by accounting for the role of salinity in ocean layer formation. [1] Salinity is important because like temperature, it affects water density.
Humboldt Current. The Humboldt Current, also called the Peru Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America. [1] It is an eastern boundary current flowing in the direction of the equator, and extends 500–1,000 km (310–620 mi) offshore.
T-S diagram of a station in the North Pacific. In oceanography, temperature-salinity diagrams, sometimes called T-S diagrams, are used to identify water masses.In a T-S diagram, rather than plotting each water property as a separate "profile," with pressure or depth as the vertical coordinate, potential temperature (on the vertical axis) is plotted versus salinity (on the horizontal axis).
The Ekman spiral is an arrangement of ocean currents: the directions of horizontal current appear to twist as the depth changes. [1] The oceanic wind driven Ekman spiral is the result of a force balance created by a shear stress force, Coriolis force and the water drag. This force balance gives a resulting current of the water different from ...
Associated with this mask will be water level elevations with an accuracy of 10 cm (3.9 in) for water bodies whose non-vegetated surface area exceeds 1 km 2 (0.39 sq mi). The slope accuracy is 1.7 cm/km (1.1 in/mi) over a maximum 10 km (6.2 mi) of flow distance. [7]