OCS 1005 Chapter : Movements Of Waters Below The Surface
15 Mar 2019
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As you recall, the ocean is stratified due to density-in itself, a function of temperature and salinity. Within each of the three main water masses (surface water, pycnocline, deep water), currents are established and the water circulates. Another important current is the one that contains the densest waters in the ocean (due to cold temperatures and high salinity). These waters begin in the polar regions where the formation of ice increases the density of the remaining oceanic water. Also, these currents cause erosion and rippling of the deep sea sediments. Because these currents tend to flow around, and not over highs on the sea floor, we call them "contour currents. " The largest bottom current, the antarctic bottom water, begins at antarctica and flows all the way to the. A similar current sinks off of greenland and moves south in the atlantic, called the north atlantic deep water.
