What is global circulation of ocean water called?

What is global circulation of ocean water called?

The ocean’s global circulation system plays a key role in distributing heat energy, regulating weather and climate, and cycling vital nutrients and gases. Density differences in ocean water drive the global conveyor belt. This global circulation system is also called thermohaline circulation.

What are the types of ocean circulation?

Ocean circulation derives its energy at the sea surface from two sources that define two circulation types: (1) wind-driven circulation forced by wind stress on the sea surface, inducing a momentum exchange, and (2) thermohaline circulation driven by the variations in water density imposed at the sea surface by …

What are the 3 types of ocean water circulation?

The three main patterns of ocean circulation are gyres, upwelling, and thermohaline circulation.

What is the thermohaline conveyor?

Thermohaline Circulation It is somewhat like a giant conveyor belt, moving warm surface waters downward and forcing cold, nutrient-rich waters upward. The term thermohaline combines the words thermo (heat) and haline (salt), both factors that influence the density of seawater.

What is water circulation?

water cycle, also called hydrologic cycle, cycle that involves the continuous circulation of water in the Earth-atmosphere system. Of the many processes involved in the water cycle, the most important are evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation, and runoff. The water cycle begins and ends in the ocean.

Where are Hadley cells located?

the equator
Hadley cells exist on either side of the equator. Each cell encircles the globe latitudinally and acts to transport energy from the equator to about the 30th latitude. The circulation exhibits the following phenomena: Warm, moist air converging near the equator causes heavy precipitation.

What are ocean currents Name two types of ocean currents?

Currents. There are two main types of ocean currents: currents driven mainly by wind and currents mainly driven by density differences.

What name is given to the deepest trench in the world?

The Mariana Trench, in the Pacific Ocean, is the deepest location on Earth. According to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the United States has jurisdiction over the trench and its resources.

What are the 5 major ocean currents of the world?

There are five major ocean-wide gyres—the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, and Indian Ocean gyres.

What causes ocean circulation?

Ocean currents can be caused by wind, density differences in water masses caused by temperature and salinity variations, gravity, and events such as earthquakes or storms. These currents move water masses through the deep ocean—taking nutrients, oxygen, and heat with them.

How do density differences cause the large scale ocean circulation?

Deep ocean circulation. Deep ocean circulation is primarily driven by density differences. It is called thermohaline circulation, because density differences are due to temperature and salinity. Density differences are small and the flow velocity is low, of the order of a few cm/s.

How does thermohaline circulation differ from surface wind driven circulation?

thermohaline circulation Wind-driven circulation, which is strongest in the surface layer of the ocean, is the more vigorous of the two and is configured as large gyres that dominate an ocean region. In contrast, thermohaline circulation is much slower, with a typical speed of 1 centimetre (0.4…

How does the density of ocean water affect its circulation?

The colder and saltier the ocean water, the denser it is. The greater the density differences between different layers in the water column, the greater the mixing and circulation. Density differences in ocean water contribute to a global-scale circulation system, also called the global conveyor belt.

What type of circulation is driven by differences in density?

Water movements driven by differences in density are also known as thermohaline circulation because water density depends on its temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline). Density refers to an object’s mass per unit volume, or how compact it is.

What is the ocean’s global circulation system?

The ocean’s global circulation system plays a key role in distributing heat energy, regulating weather and climate, and cycling vital nutrients and gases. Density differences in ocean water drive the global conveyor belt. This global circulation system is also called thermohaline circulation.

What is thermohaline circulation in geography?

Thermohaline Circulation. Thermohaline circulation begins in the Earth’s polar regions. When ocean water in these areas gets very cold, sea ice forms. The surrounding seawater gets saltier, increases in density and sinks. Winds drive ocean currents in the upper 100 meters of the ocean’s surface.

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