Ocean circulation, gyres, upwelling, thermohaline circulation, waves, tides, El Nino and seawater properties.
40 cards · basic cards · AI-written, checked twice. Edit anything.
- What is an ocean gyre?
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A large-scale, persistent circular ocean current system driven by wind and the Coriolis effect- What drives the formation of ocean gyres?
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Wind stress on the ocean surface combined with the Coriolis effect- Name the five major ocean gyres
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North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, and Indian Ocean- Why do gyres rotate clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere?
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The Coriolis effect deflects moving water to the right- Why do gyres rotate counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere?
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The Coriolis effect deflects moving water to the left- What is Sverdrup transport?
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The total volume of water transported by a gyre, measured in sverdrups where 1 Sv equals 1 million cubic meters per second- What is the Ekman spiral?
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The change in ocean current direction and speed with depth due to wind stress and the Coriolis effect- What is Ekman transport?
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The net mass transport of water perpendicular to the wind direction- What is thermohaline circulation?
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Ocean circulation driven by differences in water density caused by temperature and salinity variations- What two factors control seawater density?
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Temperature and salinity- Where is North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) formed?
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In the Greenland, Norwegian, and Labrador Seas- What is the global conveyor belt?
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The interconnected system of ocean currents that transports water globally over thousands of years- What is Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW)?
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The densest water mass in the ocean, formed around Antarctica and flowing northward along the ocean floor- What is the approximate timescale for water to complete the global thermohaline circulation?
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About 1,000 years- What is upwelling?
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The rising of cold, nutrient-rich deep water to the ocean surface
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