week 7

• geostrophic flow - water moving and balancing Earths rotation and pressure gradients
• western boundary currents are faster than other parts of gyres due to confinement by continental boundaries
• ekman transport - horizontal water movement influenced by wind and Coriolis effect (2o to 40 degrees to right of wind direction)
• Thermocline/pycnocline - region where temp and pressure change rapidly with depth
• redfeild ratio - describes ratio of nutrients in organic matter and seawater
• Antarctic circumpolar water - continuous west - east current in southern ocean
• earths surcafe would be 30 degrees warmer without GGs
• heating from below drives Earths atmospheric convection cells
• as air rises at Hadley cell, it condenses and releases latent heat
• primary function of polar jet stream is to separate the polar and ferrel cell
• geostrophic balance is a primary driver for atmospheric jet streams
• Langmuir circulation is shallow, wind driven circulation of water in horizontal, spiral bands and it is the cause of windrows
• there can be upwelling and downwelling by shores due to ekman transport because when wind blows near the shore, water moves through woman transport and can either be upwelled or down welled. upwelling brings cold nutrient rich water to the surface
• ocean mesoscale eddies - circular horizontal motion around an area of lower pressure or higher in the surface oceans
• gyres are large circular flows of water crossing an entire ocean basin