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Disturbed free surface of a sea, viewed from below. In physics, a free surface is the surface of a fluid that is subject to zero parallel shear stress, [1] such as the interface between two homogeneous fluids. [2] An example of two such homogeneous fluids would be a body of water (liquid) and the air in the Earth's atmosphere (gas mixture).
Ocean surfaces occupy 72% of the Earth's total surface. They can be divided into surfaces of the relatively shallow and nutrient rich coastal areas above the continental shelves (light blue), and surfaces of the more expansive and relatively deeper but nutrient poor ocean that lies beyond (deep blue).
Ocean surface topography or sea surface topography, also called ocean dynamic topography, are highs and lows on the ocean surface, similar to the hills and valleys of Earth's land surface depicted on a topographic map. These variations are expressed in terms of average sea surface height (SSH) relative to Earth's geoid. [1]
The entire ocean, containing 97% of Earth's water, spans 70.8% of Earth's surface, [8] making it Earth's global ocean or world ocean. [ 23 ] [ 25 ] This makes Earth, along with its vibrant hydrosphere a "water world" [ 43 ] [ 44 ] or " ocean world ", [ 45 ] [ 46 ] particularly in Earth's early history when the ocean is thought to have possibly ...
The Ekman layer near the surface of the ocean extends only about 10 – 20 meters deep, [6] and instrumentation sensitive enough to observe a velocity profile in such a shallow depth has only been available since around 1980. [2] Also, wind waves modify the flow near the surface, and make observations close to the surface rather difficult. [7]
But the surface is also on the front line of climate change and pollution. Life on the ocean's surface connects worlds. From shallow waters to the deep sea, the open ocean to rivers and lakes, numerous terrestrial and marine species depend on the surface ecosystem and the organisms found there. [28] The ocean's surface acts like a skin between ...
Old surface, young ocean. The research team determined the origin and age of Mimas’ ocean by studying how the moon, roughly 249 miles (400 kilometers) in diameter, responded to the gravitational ...
Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) is a free-surface, terrain-following, primitive equations ocean model widely used by the scientific community for a diverse range of applications. The model is developed and supported by researchers at the Rutgers University , University of California Los Angeles and contributors worldwide.