BIOL361 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Anchovy, Thermocline, Thermohaline Circulation
6 May 2017
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Document Summary
Heat engine: heated air at the equator rises, low pressure moving to higher latitudes and then sinks. Coriolis: movement of fluid in relation to earth beneath result in deflections of the water. It is caused by the earth rotation (things at the equator move faster than things at the poles), gravity and centrifugal forces. Gyres: combination of winds systems and shapes of ocean basins create cyclonic flow. Where gyres interact with land masses the wind plus the coriolis effect tends to concentrate boundary currents on west sides of the ocean. The coriolis effect causes each successive sheet of water to deflect to the right relative to the sheet above at 90 degree. Winds are affected by the rotation of the earth and this generates: trade winds and prevailing westerlies. California current is cold south, atlantic brings warm water to the tropiques. Eddies bring warm water up (warm core wings).
