How do temperature and salt salinity cause currents? Currents may also be caused by density differences in water masses due to temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline) variations via a process known as thermohaline circulation. These currents move water masses through the deep ocean—taking nutrients, oxygen, and heat with them.
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What factors affect the salinity of the Pacific Ocean?
The salinity patterns of the surface waters of the Pacific are influenced largely by wind and by precipitation and evaporation patterns. The waters within the belt of calm and variable winds near the Equator have lower salinities than those in the trade-wind belts.
What is the difference between surface and deep water currents?
Opposite of the surface ones, deepwater currents can be found under 400 meters in the water, thus, making it into 90% of water in the ocean. The deepwater currents also spun around due to gravitational forces. The difference is that the deepwater currents moves are mainly caused by the differences in densities of the water.
What is the role of ocean currents in global climate?
The currents would usually be in circular patterns that often trace along the coastlines. Ocean currents have a role to transport cold water from the poles to the tropics, also precipitation and warm water from the equator to the poles. Therefore, ocean currents have a role in regulating the global climate and temperature.
What are the characteristics of the ocean?
The oceans tend to be stratified, the principal factor being temperature; the bottom waters of the deep parts are intensely cold, with temperatures only slightly above freezing. The surface zone, where temperature variations are perceptible, is between 330 and 1,000 feet (100 and 300 metres) thick.
How does salinity and temperature affect deep ocean currents?
As the seawater gets saltier, its density increases, and it starts to sink. Surface water is pulled in to replace the sinking water, which in turn eventually becomes cold and salty enough to sink. This initiates the deep-ocean currents driving the global conveyer belt.
How do differences in temperature and salinity affect ocean currents?
Since warmer water thus can hold more salt and other molecules than cold water; it can have a higher salinity. To relate this to ocean currents, the higher the salinity of ocean water, the more dense it becomes. When the salinity is high enough, the water will sink, starting a convection current.
How do temperature and salinity affect ocean water?
First, along with temperature, they directly affect seawater density (salty water is denser than freshwater) and therefore the circulation of ocean currents from the tropics to the poles. These currents control how heat is carried within the oceans and ultimately regulate the world's climate.
How does temperature affect deep water currents?
Warming temperatures result in weakened currents. If the water at the poles is not as cold and dense, it simply won't be able to circulate as well. Additionally, the melting of the Greenland continental ice sheet is pouring freshwater into the salty ocean, again altering the density of the water masses.
What are three factors that control deep currents?
What are three factors that control deep currents? Density, salinity, and temperature; accept also the Coriolis effect.
How does salinity vary with temperature?
6 Salinity, Temperature, Pressure, and Water Density. The density of water increases as the salinity increases. The density of seawater (salinity greater than 24.7) increases as temperature decreases at all temperatures above the freezing point.
What are the effects of salinity on ocean water?
Salinity can affect the density of ocean water: Water that has higher salinity is denser and heavier and will sink underneath less saline, warmer water. This can affect the movement of ocean currents. It can also affect marine life, which may need to regulate its intake of saltwater.
What affects the salinity of ocean water?
Evaporation of ocean water and formation of sea ice both increase the salinity of the ocean. However these "salinity raising" factors are continually counterbalanced by processes that decrease salinity such as the continuous input of fresh water from rivers, precipitation of rain and snow, and melting of ice.
What are the factors that affect salinity?
It influences seawater movements and the habitat of fish and other marine life. Ocean Salinity is affected by several factors. These are evaporation, rainfall, river water influx, ocean currents, atmospheric pressure, wind direction, and global warming.
What affects deep ocean currents?
Deep currents are driven by temperature and water density/salinity. Of course, deep currents impact surface currents, which carry warm water to the poles. Surface currents are also driven by global wind systems fueled by energy from the sun. Factors like wind direction and the Coriolis effect play a role.
What causes deep water ocean currents?
In contrast to wind-driven surface currents, deep-ocean currents are caused by differences in water density. The process that creates deep currents is called thermohaline circulation—“thermo” referring to temperature and “haline” to saltiness.
What are deep currents caused by?
Surface wind-driven currents generate upwelling currents in conjunction with landforms, creating deepwater currents. Currents may also be caused by density differences in water masses due to temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline) variations via a process known as thermohaline circulation.
How does salinity affect the ocean?
Salinity can affect the density of ocean water: Water that has higher salinity is denser and heavier and will sink underneath less saline, warmer water. This can affect the movement of ocean currents. It can also affect marine life, which may need to regulate its intake of saltwater.
How does the temperature and salinity of water affect density?
The warmer the water, the more space it takes up, and the lower its density. When comparing two samples of water with the same salinity, or mass, the water sample with the higher temperature will have a greater volume, and it will therefore be less dense.
How does salinity affect water?
High levels of salts may affect the taste of drinking water. Chloride in particular has a low taste threshold. Sodium and magnesium sulfate levels in drinking water may produce a laxative effect and reduce the suitability of a water supply for grazing animals.
What Happens When ocean salinity increases?
As the salinity of water increases, the freezing point decreases (29), meaning that an ocean of higher salinity has less potential to form sea ice and therefore remains ice free at much lower temperatures.
How do ocean currents affect climate?
Ocean currents have a role to transport cold water from the poles to the tropics, also precipitation and warm water from the equator to the poles. Therefore, ocean currents have a role in regulating the global climate and temperature.
What would happen if ocean currents changed?
If the ocean currents change its cycle, for example due to changing salinity of the ocean water, the weather on each parts of the Earth then would change. The changing density of the ocean water will make the currents either sink deeper into the ocean or can’t sink enough, which then will make the currents patterns also change too.
Why do deepwater currents spin around?
The deepwater currents also spun around due to gravitational forces. The difference is that the deepwater currents moves are mainly caused by the differences in densities of the water. See also: Impacts of Ocean Currents on Climate. 4.
Why do we get heavy rains in wet areas?
As the opposite of the arid areas, this may happen because the changing currents cycle bring more water that are supposedly for the arid areas to the wet areas instead.
How do ocean currents change the trade of winds?
The ocean currents help change the trade of winds that are formed when the air that is heated over the oceans, gets lighter and then get replaced by the dense cold air. The gap that is created by the cold air will then be replaced by the warm air and an equal distribution of cold and warm air will take place in the same way.
Why can't currents bring enough water to the area?
This is because the currents can’t bring enough water to the areas since the density of the water has change. The situation can create further damage such as drought which can be resulted in food scarcity. See also: Plants that Live in the Pacific Ocean. Heavy Rainfalls on Wet Areas.
What is the difference between warm and cold water?
This part, is called upwelling. While the downwelling is when the warm water filled the void that is created by the cold water. Both the downwelling and upwelling plays a part in the distribution of nutrients in the ocean.
When does precipitation occur in the summer?
The shifting of the intertropical convergence zone and upper air circulation brings heavy precipitation in summer from June to September.
What zone do trade winds converge in?
The trade winds converge toward the intertropical convergence zone, producing average precipitation totals that generally exceed 60 inches a year over northern South America.