- 00 Saline Arctic Water Labrador Sea 60 W Depth M Deep Water Sea Formation Greenland East Greenland Current Dwbc Irmin 1 (934.05 KiB) Viewed 24 times
Climate variability due to the wind-driven circulation Increasing winds → increases the boundary currents → increases the surface temperatures 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 -0.1 -0.2 150E 160E 170E 180 170W (Shears and Bowen, 2017) Increasing winds → increases ocean "weather" °C/Decade
Deep Water From Sea Ice At -1.8 °C ice begins to form on the sea surface. Ice crystals reject salt Increases salinity of the water Saltier water is more dense Dense water sinks to the ocean floor Most dense water production occurs in polynyas Tom Dempsey/Photoseck.com (http://www.photoseek.com/antarctica.html) COASTAL POLYNYA winds from Antarctic continent latent heat newly formed ice pushed away from coast - brine formation. cold.. high salinity water
Deep water in the Arctic February 1982 180° Deep water formed under sea ice and in coastal polynyas around the Arctic. P 50°N 180° 4 September 1982 50°N
The Overturning Circulation Water must flow towards the poles to replace the deep water sinking. Movement of heat towards the poles in the ocean. Intertwined with the wind-driven circulation. Generalized model of thermohaline circulation: "Global Conveyor Belt" High salinity water cools & sinks in the North Atlantic Deep water returns to surface in Indian & Pacific Oceans through the process of upwelling Warm shallow current Cold & deep high salinity current (http://pmm.nasa.gov/education/articles/ ... ater-cycle)
RAPID array A series of moorings across the North Atlantic at 25N. 25% of the total ocean heat transport. Monitors the overturning circulation since 2004 and will continue until 2020. Florida Strait Africa Mid-Atlantic Ridge 45W 80W 5W Thermohaline component Ekman Florida Recirculation Current Estimate the flow of water associated with the sinking of water in the North Atlantic. Subtract the wind-driven circulation to find the overturning circulation.
Energy redistribution same amount of sunlight same amount of sunlight smaller area Heat moves from the equator to the poles. The same amount of sunlight spreads over a larger area near the poles than near the equator. When spread over a larger area, the insolation per unit area is decreased, leading to cooler temperatures away from the equator. Ocean and atmosphere are moving heat from the equator to the poles. EFFECT OF LATITUDE ON INSOLATION larger area