Ocean and Climate Dynamics

A collection of flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from lectures on ocean properties, circulation, climate change, and the carbon cycle.

Sea Surface Salinity

The amount of salt in seawater, measured in parts per thousand or practical salinity units.

Halocline

A layer in the ocean where salinity increases rapidly with depth.

Thermocline

A layer in the ocean where temperature decreases rapidly with depth.

Upwelling

The process where deep water rises to replace surface water, usually resulting from divergence.

Downwelling

The process where surface water accumulates and sinks, usually due to convergence.

Ekman Spiral

A phenomenon where water movement is deflected due to friction between surface winds and the ocean.

Coriolis effect

The deflection of moving objects (including water) on the Earth's surface due to the planet's rotation.

El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

A coupled ocean-atmosphere climate event in the Equatorial Pacific that occurs in 2-7 year cycles.

Thermohaline circulation

Deep ocean circulation driven by differences in water density, affected by temperature and salinity.

Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs)

Scenarios that model how different actions can affect global CO2 concentrations over time.

Biological carbon pump

The transfer of carbon between the ocean and atmosphere through biological processes involving marine organisms.

Ocean acidification

The decrease in pH of ocean water due to the absorption of excess CO2 from the atmosphere.

Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)

A major ocean current system that helps distribute heat and nutrients in the Atlantic Ocean.

Carbon Reservoir

Pools of carbon material at a certain point in time, which can be a sink or source.

Walker circulation

A circulation pattern in the atmosphere that is driven by trade winds, impacting weather patterns.