EOSC 314 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Trade Winds, Antarctic Convergence, Equatorial Counter Current
Document Summary
Currents: surface currents, wind-driven, primarily horizontal motion, deep currents, driven by differences in density caused by differences in temperature and salinity, vertical and horizontal motions, measuring surface current, direct methods, floating device tracked through time. Large area underneath to capture direction of currents: fixed current meter. Can tell direction and speed: indirect methods, pressure gradients measuring. Sea surface height: doppler flow meter. Waves become more compressed when they are closer to you. As they move away, they are bigger. Send out sound waves and dependent on this you can find out how fast currents are going and in what direction: measuring deep currents, chemical tracers, tritium. Radioactivity it is extremely low: chlorofluorocarbons, characteristic temperature and salinity, argo, global array of free-drifting profiling floats, sink down to as much as 2000m and drift for as long as 10 days. Surface water and deep water: coriolis effect.