Oceans

  • Amphidromic point: Location in the ocean with zero tidal range.

  • AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation): A major ocean current system that transports warm surface waters from the tropics northward and cold, deep waters southward.

  • Centrifugal force: Outward force experienced by an object moving in a circular path.

  • Continental shelf: Gently sloping, submerged extension of a continent that extends from the shoreline to the continental slope.

  • Coriolis Effect: The apparent deflection of moving objects (like air and water) to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere due to Earth's rotation.

  • Deep water formation: The process by which dense, cold, and salty water sinks to the depths of the ocean, driving thermohaline circulation.

  • Ekman Transport: Net movement of surface water at an angle to the wind direction due to the Coriolis Effect.

  • Fetch: The distance over water that the wind has blown, influencing wave size.

  • Gyre: Large system of rotating ocean currents.

  • Hydrocarbons: Organic compounds composed of hydrogen and carbon atoms, often found in fossil fuels.

  • Neap tide: Tide with a smaller tidal range than average, occurring when the sun and moon are at right angles to each other.

  • Ocean acidification: Decrease in the pH of ocean water due to the absorption of atmospheric CO2.

  • Primary production (photosynthesis): Process by which organisms, like phytoplankton, use sunlight to convert CO2 and water into organic matter and oxygen.

  • Rogue wave: Unusually large and unpredictable surface wave that can be dangerous to ships.

  • Seamount: Underwater mountain with steep sides rising from the seafloor.

  • Shelf sea: Shallow sea located over a continental shelf.

  • Spring tide: Tide with a greater tidal range than average, occurring when the sun, moon, and Earth are aligned.

  • Stratification: Layering of ocean water based on density, often influenced by temperature and salinity.

  • Thermohaline circulation: Global ocean circulation driven by differences in water density, caused by variations in temperature and salinity.

  • Tidal range: The difference in height between high tide and low tide.

  • Trough: Lowest point of a wave.

  • Wave height: Vertical distance between the trough and crest of a wave.

  • Wave length: Horizontal distance between two successive wave crests.

  • Wyville Thomson Ridge (WTR): A topographic feature in the North Atlantic that plays a role in the formation of NADW.