GEOG 155 Chapter Notes - Chapter 10: Ocean Gyre, Ocean Current, Mixed Layer
Document Summary
Ocean currents: the large-scale movements of water. Solar radiation absorbed at the surface of earth provides the energy to heat the atmosphere and oceans: absorption of solar radiation produces pattern where warm water lies on top of progressively colder water. Ocean temperature zones: mixed layer: surface layer. Contains about 3% of total ocean water volume. Nearly constant temperatures and salinity conditions: thermocline: layer that extends beneath the mixed layer to a depth of about. 1000m, has relatively sharp changes in temperature with depth: deep-ocean layer: depths greater than 1000m and is about 97% of ocean. Mixed layer exchanges heat, mass, and momentum with atmosphere. Greater density of water compared to air, so heat capacity of mixed layer. Surface currents is greater than the atmosphere: almost all of oceanic heat-transfer activity takes place via horizontal currents in uppermost 75m of water, most global-scale currents differ only slightly from surface waters they flow through. Warm currents, travel from tropics toward poles.
