EPS SCI 15 Lecture 6 Review

What is the density of seawater primarily determined by?

Temperature and salinity (to a very small amount of pressure)

Seawater density is often denoted as ____, which is density - 1000

Sigma σ

Why can layered water masses be stable, unstable or neutral?

Depends on their density, which has a major effect on the water masses’ potential to be mixed

Global oceanic temperature and salinity varies:

Horizontally and vertically

Global oceanic temperature and salinity is determined by various processes such as:

Solar radiation, air temperature, wind, evaporation, precipitation, ice formation/melting

At thermoclines, _____ changes ______ with _______

Temperature changes rapidly with depth

At Haloclines, _____ changes _____ with _____

Salinity changes rapidly with depth

At Pycnoclines, _______ changes _____ with ______

Density (affected by both temperature and salinity) changes rapidly with depth

Where is the Thermocline most pronounced?

The Tropics

What is the Thermocline like in the mid-latitudes?

Varies with season

What is the Thermocline like in the high latitudes?

Mostly absent or very deep

What is the Mixed Layer?

Surface layer in which active turbulence caused by wind, evaporation, etc. has homogenoized some range of depths

Where is the Mixed Layer shallowest and deepest?

Shallowest at the tropics, deeper towards the poles

Where is the Mixed Layer basically absent?

Where cold, deep water is formed: North Atlantic and Antarctica