Chap 6 Water & Ocean Structure

Physical Oceanography

Water and Heat Sun is exclusive source of

energy driving ocean and atmospheric currents.

The Sun radiates throughout the electromagnetic spectrum, but principle radiation is in visible part of the spectrum.

Visible light is strongly absorbed by seawater

Heat – energy produced by random vibration of atoms or molecules.

Temperature – object’s response to an input or removal of heat.

Specific heat – heat required to raise the temperature of 1 g of substance by 1 °C. (calories / g)

Infrared Energy in clear water, only

10% reaches 25 m, only 0.5% reaches 100 m, .0025% reaches 200 m

essentially all energy gain in the oceans takes place in upper 10 -100 m of water

Concept of Steady State

Averaged over the globe and over a year, the Earth loses as much energy as it gains.

Green house effect may be changing the steady state

There is a net gain of energy at low latitudes and a net loss of energy at high latitudes.

This latitudinal difference is energy gain and loss drives both ocean and atmospheric circulation.

All energy exchange by the oceans occurs at the surface

This exchange of energy controls the temperature of ocean water masses

DensityMass / volume (g / cm3)Density depends on temperature and

salinityOcean density ranges from 1.02 to 1.03

g/cc.Density differences, together with

winds, are the principal factors determining ocean currents.

Freezing WaterDensity curve (6.6) shows the

relationship between the temperature or salinity of a substance and its density.

Water density decreases as the water freezes

Angle between water molecules expand from 105 ° to 109 °

Forms a crystalline lattice – less dense, hence ice float.

Sensible heat loss – detectable decrease in heat, measured with a thermometer, before ice freezes

Latent [hidden] heat of fusion – amount of heat removed to form ice per g of water (80 calories)

This process of freezing and thawing moderates global temperature swings. Why?

Review the ConceptsHeat is transmitted in the ocean in

which wave length?Define densityThe density of a parcel of seawater will

be affected by which factors

Evaporating WaterLatent heat of evaporation – amount of

energy required to break hydrogen bonds

585 cal / g at 20 °CWhy such a big difference between

latent heat of evaporation and the latent heat of fusion?

Sea Water vs. Pure Water Solids dissolved

lowers specific heat by 4% (heats faster)

Ions also interfere with the freezing point, the saltier the lower the freezing point

No solids, water requires 1 cal to heat up vs. 0.96 cal sea water.

No ions to interfere with the freezing point

Solar Energy Inputs the sun 'makes a direct hit' at equator,

while the same sunlight is spread over a larger area at the poles.

This is just another way of showing that the equator is heated up more than the north or south poles of the Earth.

This uneven heating of our round globe causes the air at the equator to rise, cool, and then wring out its moisture as rain.

The equator, then, is a zone of low pressure systems and lots of rainfall.

This zone extends from roughly 5°N to 5°S of the equator.

The air doesn't keep rising forever. It eventually reaches an altitude

where it is the same temperature (and density) as the surrounding air.

It then spreads out laterally, both in a north direction, and in a south direction.

As it moves poleward (either north or south from the equator), the air continues to cool, and finally, sinks. Where it sinks, the pressure is high.

Heat budget is balance (p.163, f. 7.10)

Density Structure of the Ocean

Winds are the primary driving force of the surface circulation, which is also called wind-driven circulation,

density differences drive the deep, or vertical, circulation of the oceans.

The density of seawater is controlled by temperature and salinity, so the deep circulation is also called the thermohaline circulation.

Review the ConceptsContrast sea water and fresh waterWhat causes the seasonal changes?Why the poles are cold?

Temperature differences as small as a few hundredths of a degree and salinity differences of a few parts

in a hundred thousand can be important. Both temperature and salinity are

conservative properties of seawater, that is, there are determined by processes occurring at the surface.

SalinitySalinity refers to the weight fraction of

dissolved solids in water. Average salinity of seawater is about

35‰ (‰ and ppt mean “parts per thousand).

Principal processes that change salinity are:

1. dilution (by rainwater and river water)

2. Evaporation freezing (& thawing) of sea ice

Salinity changes occur only at the surface of the ocean

Because temperature and salinity change only at the surface density changes occur only at surface

Water masses can be identified by their temperature-salinity characteristics.

Density, together with winds, govern ocean currents

Ocean StructureUpper 100-500 m to have uniform

temperature and salinity because of mixing by waves.(6.13)

Below this, to a depth of ~1000 m, Temp., Salinity, and density change ( Thermocline, Halocline, Pycnocline) (6.12)

In deep water, temperature, salinity and density are relatively uniform

This structure varies latitudinally. At mid-latitudes, it also varies seasonally: upper mixed layer will deepen in summer;

thermocline might largely disappear in winter

Sound Is a form of energy transmitted by rapid

pressure changes in an elastic medium. Intensity decreases as it travels through

seawater until eventually is absorbed and converted into heat

Speed is 1,500 m / s, almost five time the speed in air

Echolocation Marine mammals use

sound rather than light to “see” in the ocean

Echolocation –use of reflected sound to detect environmental objects

MM use echolocation to detect prey and avoid obstacles

Speed of sound increases as temperature and pressure increases (6.21)

Travels faster at the surface than in deeper, cooler water.

Minimum speed at 600 – 1,200 m Below this depth the pressure offsets the

temperature and speed increases again

SOFAR Layer Sound Fixing and Ranging Transmission of sound in this minimum-

velocity layer is very efficient because refraction tends to cause sound energy to remain within the layer (6.20)

Loud sounds made at this depth can be heard for thousands of kilometers

Sound generated in the India Ocean was hear as far a way as the Oregon Coast (Box 6.1)

SONARSound Navigation and RangingActive SONAR – projection of short

pulses of high frequency sound to search for objects in the ocean.

Operator can tell direction, size, heading and even the composition by analyzing the composition of the returned ping

Side-Scan Sonar – towed behind a vessel (6.22)

Used for geological and archeological studies, and the location of downed ships and airplanes

Review the Concepts What kind of temperature does most of the

world ocean has? What is characteristic about the ocean's deep

sound channel (sofar layer) ? What is called a zone in which the ocean's

salinity increases rapidly with increasing depth?

Which zone does the most pronounced or marked all year around thermoclines exist?