EARTH 10 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Geostrophic Wind, Antarctic Circumpolar Current, Salinity
Document Summary
Surface currents: upper ~10% of the ocean o. Counter-clockwise when looking down from the north pole. Clockwise when looking down from the south pole. Due to rotation of the earth, water, earth, and man-made objects are deflected from a. The 90 net transport of a column of water by a combination of wind drag and friction. Each moving layer is deflected, so the direction of water movement changes with increasing depths. A sloping ocean surface generates horizontal differences (gradients) in water pressure. These pressure gradients give rise to a geostrophic flow. Westerly flow - why: coriolis effect. Winds that drive it are the westerly winds. Ocean current then flows clockwise from west to east. Changing temperatures: contact with atmosphere or other water masses o. Generally, oceans gain heat at equator and lose heat at poles. If temperature goes down, density goes up.
