Oceancirculation andclimate

Ocean wind driven circulation

Objectives
How does the wind drive surface currents Oceanic gyres Ekman currents and transport Upwelling and Downwelling Western and Eastern Boundary currents

OceanCurrentsandClimate
TherearetwotypeofOceanCurrents:

An ocean current is continuous, directed movement of ocean water

1.SurfaceCurrentsSurfaceCirculation Thesewatersmakeupabout10%ofallthewaterintheocean. Thesewatersaretheupper400metersoftheocean. 2.DeepWaterCurrentsThermohaline Circulation Thesewatersmakeuptheother90%oftheocean Thesewatersmovearoundtheoceanbasinsbydensitydrivenforcesandgravity. Thedensitydifferenceisafunctionofdifferenttemperaturesandsalinity Thesedeepwaterssinkintothedeepoceanbasinsathighlatitudeswherethe temperaturesarecoldenoughtocausethedensitytoincrease. OceanCurrentsareinfluencedbythefollowing forceswhichstartthewatermoving Theprimaryforcesare: 1.SolarHeating 2.Winds 3.Gravity 4.Coriolis

SurfaceCurrents:
Windsdrivesurfacecurrents,but DeflectionofsurfacecurrentsbyEarth'srotationandcontinentalpositions Atlantic circularmotion thegyres Equatorialcurrents GulfStream NorthAtlanticcurrent CanaryCurrent CurrentsintheNorthPacificOcean CaliforniaCurrent Kuroshio Current NorthPacificDrift polarcurrents(Alaska,Oyashio) EquatorialCounterCurrent(deflectedbyAsia)

Surface Currents:

SurfaceCirculation Solarheating causeswatertoexpand.Neartheequatorthewaterisabout8centimeters higherthaninmiddlelatitudes.Thiscausesaveryslightslope andwaterwantstoflow downtheslope. Winds blowingonthesurfaceoftheoceanpushthewater.Frictionis thecoupling betweenthewindandthewater'ssurface.

The trade winds are a pattern of wind that are found in bands around the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds are the prevailing winds in the tropics, blowing from the high-pressure area in the horse latitudes towards the low-pressure area around the equator.

Awindblowingfor10hoursacrosstheoceanwill causethesurfacewaterstoflowatabout2%ofthe windspeed. Waterwillpileupinthedirectionthewindisblowing. Gravitywilltendtopullthewaterdownthe"hill"or pileofwateragainstthepressuregradient. ButtheCoriolis Force intervenesandcausesthe watertomovetotheright(inthenorthern hemisphere)aroundthemoundofwater.

Coriolis effect isanapparent deflectionofmovingobjects whentheyareviewedfroma rotatingreferenceframe.

In the inertial frame of reference (upper part of the picture), the black object moves in a straight line. However, the observer (red dot) who is standing in the rotating frame of reference (lower part of the picture) sees the object as following a curved path.

TheselargemoundsofwaterandtheflowaroundthemarecalledGyres.These producelargecircularcurrentsinalltheoceanbasins.

Coriolis force - because of the earth's rotation, water motion eventually is deflected to the right in the Northern Hemisphere, left in the Southern Hemisphere

NotehowtheNorthAtlanticGyreisseparatedintofourdistinct Currents,TheNorthEquatorialCurrent,theGulfStream,theNorthAtlantic Current,andtheCanaryCurrent. TheNorthAtlanticgyre,aseriesof fourinterconnectedcurrentswith differentflowcharacteristicsand temperatures Butwhydoesn'tthewaterspin towardsthecenteroftheocean? Whydoesitflowaroundthehillin thiscircularmotion.

How is the energy of the winds transferred to the ocean?

Ekman Theory

Rememberthehillofwater Thishillisformedbytheinwardpushofwaterthrough aprocesscalledEkman Transport. RemembertheCoriolis Forcemovesobjectstotherightinthenorthernhemisphere

Surfacewaterblownby thewinds atpointAturnstotherightofits initialpathandcontinueseastward. WateratpointBturnstotheright andcontinueswestward.

Windblowingonthesurfaceoftheoceanhasthe greatesteffectonthesurface.However,forthelower layersoftheoceantomovetheymustbepushedby thefrictionbetweenthelayersofwaterabove. Consequently,thelowerlayermovesslowerthanthe layerabove.Witheachsuccessivelayerdowninthe watercolumnthespeedisreduced.Thisleadstothe spiralaffectseenintheabovediagram.

Thenetmovementofwater(averagedovertheentireupperlayeroftheocean)is90o tothe rightofthewinddirection(inthenorthernhemisphere).

ThemovementofwaterawayfrompointBinthepreviousfigureisinfluenced bytherightwardtendencyoftheCoriolis effectandthegravitypowered movementofwaterdownthepressuregradient.

Effects of Ekman Currents

Atmosphere

60 30 Ocean

Boundary Currents are the major geostrophic currents around the gyre

ThegeneralsurfacecirculationoftheNorth Atlantic.Thenumbersindicateflowratesin Sverdrups (1Sv=1millioncubicmetersof waterpersecond)

Notethedifferenceisstrength(Svsverdrups) betweenthewesternandeasternboundary currents.Thisiscausedbytheeffectofthe rotatingEarthwhichtendstomovethe"hill"of watertothewesternsidesoftheoceanbasins

BoundarycurrentsintheNorthernHemisphere

EDDIESINSURFACECIRCULATION
Definitionandcharacteristicsofeddies
Rotationcreatedattheedgesofcurrents Ringsofcirculatingwater,10300kmwide CommonlydevelopintheGulfStreamandKuroshio: Coldwater Warmwaterboundarymeanderslikeariver Eddiesbecomepinchedoffandmovewithprevailingcurrent Watersineddieshavedifferentproperties(T,S,motion,opticalproperties) thanthewatermassesorcurrentsinwhichtheyareembedded Rotarymotionineddiescanextendtogreatdepthsand evenstirupbottomsediments

Therearetwotypesofeddies
1) Coldcoreorcycloniceddy 2) Warmcoreoranticlonic eddy

AcoldcoreringoreddyisaringofGulf Streamwaterflowingcounterclockwise aroundacold,lesssalinemassofwater. ItisformedwhenabranchoftheGulf Streammeandersandencirclesapiece ofcolderwaterfromthewest. Awarmcoreringoreddyformswhen theedgeoftheGulfStreamjogsintothe warmerwateroftheSargassoSeaand formsawarmcore,clockwiseflowof water.Thisdriftstowardsthecoastand usuallydissipatesasitcollideswiththe shallowcontinentalshelf.

Likeanoxbowlakeonland,sometimesaloopofthemeanderingGulfStreambecomescutofffrom themaincurrent.Thisformsaneddyofwaterthatmaymoveatspeedsof23knots Eddiesor"rings"arefeaturesthatareeasilyseenfromspacebyinfraredsensors.

Western Boundary Current: The Gulf Stream

Fronts
Oceanicfrontsareboundariesbetweenwatermassesofdifferentdensity.Densityisa functionoftemperatureandsalinity(theamountofdissolvedsaltsinwater);therefore, boththermal (temperature)frontsandhaline (salinity)frontsexistintheocean. Athermalfrontisazonewithapronouncedhorizontaltemperaturegradient, whileahaline front exhibitsahorizontalsalinitygradient.Oceanfrontscan extendfromthesurfacetotheverydeeplayersoftheocean,oftenseparating verylargevolumesofoceanwater. Oceanicfrontscanbepermanentortransientfeatures. PermanentoceanicfrontsincludetheGulfStreamfront,locatedofftheeast coastofNorthAmerica,andtheKuroshio Currentfront,locatedofftheeastcoast ofAsia.Thesefrontalboundariesalwaysexhibitapronouncedhorizontal temperaturegradientandcanbeupto1000metersdeep. Transientoceanicfrontsusuallyoccurseasonallyandaregenerallyweaker,with morediffuseboundaries.Transientfrontsmayonlyappearinthe oceanforafew weeksduringtheyear;however,theyareimportantcomponentsof theocean system.

Sketchofthecirculationinafront.Theblackcontoursindicatesurfacesofconstant propertyvalues;totakeanexample,inatemperaturefrontthecontourswouldbe isotherms,cold wouldbepurple,warm wouldbegold.Watermovementistowardsthe frontatthesurface,producingaconvergenceintothefront.Itcanbeseenthatwater movesacrossthecontours(egisotherms),sostrongmixing,indicatedbyyellowarrows, mustoccurinthefront.Thefrontalzoneistheregionofrapidproperty(e.g.,temperature) changeatthesurface.Thefrontalaxisisthelocationofthelargesthorizontalproperty(eg temperature)gradient.

UPWELLINGANDDOWNWELLINGINDUCEDBYEKMANTRANSPORT Upwelling alongthecoastcausedbyEkman transportofwaters(watersmovetothe rightofthewind).Thewatersmovedoffshorearereplacedbywatersfrombelow. Thisbringscold,nutrientrichwaterstothesurface. Downwelling causedbyEkman transportonshore(movementofwatertotheright ofthewinddirection).

Where Ekman transport moves surface waters away from the coast, surface waters are replaced by water that wells up from below in the process known as upwelling. This example is from the Northern Hemisphere. In other words, upwelling is the zone of divergence in the surface ocean

Where Ekman transport moves surface waters toward the coast, the water piles up and sinks in the process known as downwelling. This example is from the Northern Hemisphere. In other words, downwelling is the zone of convergence in the surface ocean

Otherregionsofimportantupwellingand downwelling 1.Equatorialupwelling 2.Upwellingalongwestsideof continents(especiallySouth AmericaandAfrica) *Upwellinganddownwellingalongcoasts maychangewithseasonsdueto seasonalwindchanges *Importanceofupwelling:Bringsnutrient richdeepwatersclosetosurface creatingregionsofhigh productivity Easternboundarycurrentflowingsouthwardalongthe CaliforniacoastoftheWestern,UnitedStates.Theimageis createdfromSeaSurfaceTemperature(SST)datafromthe MODISinstrument,ontheAquasatelliteandshowsupwelling intheCaliforniaCurrentsystem.Therangeoforangeand purplecolors,depictcoolerwatertemperaturesresultingfrom upwelling.Thegreyshapes,ontheleftareclouds.

ElNio/SouthernOscillation(EQUATORIALPACIFIC)
1)NormalConditions: HighPressureovertropicalE.Pacific LowpressureovertropicalWPacific(e.g.,Indonesia) Westwardtransportofwarmsurfacewaters CoolsurfacewatersandupwellingonAmericanside Tiltingofseasurface higheronAsianside Tiltingofthermocline (temperaturedropoff belowthesurface) higheronAmericanside

"Normal" conditions: the cold tongue is well developed and the warm pool restricted to the west. Equatorial surface currents are westward.

2)ElNio(ENSO)conditions: Changes(oscillations)inoceansurfaceandatmosphericconditionsin EquatorialPacificaboutevery37years. WarmsurfacewaterdevelopsoffthecoastsofPeruand Ecuador,extendingnorthwardtoCentralAmericaandMexico ThiscausesatmosphericpressuredecreasesinEasternPacific Tradewindsweaken,especiallyintheEastPacific LesseffectivewestwardtransportbyTradeWinds Warmwatersmigrateeastward

ElNino:thewarmpoolis largelyextendedtotheeast, whichisassociatedwith eastwardequatorialcurrents.

ImportantConsequences: UpwellinginE.Pacificlessened weaktradewinds Significanteffectonmarinelife Reductionin... Nutrientsupply Phytoplanktonproductivity Populationoffish(anchovies)andfisheatingbirds. GlobalweatherchangesobservedduringanElNioyearinclude: Droughts(summer) monsoonconditionsareblocked:SEAsia,India,Australia,Africa Heavyrainfallandstorms: CentralPacific,coastalSouthAmerica(summer) GulfCoastandCalifornia(winter) Warmwinters: Alaska,WesternCanada,NorthernUSA

Exampleof199798ElNio ElNioIncreaseinsurfacewatertemperaturesoffS.Am.:5degC PossiblythemostpowerfulElNiosystemin150years. Winterweatheraspredicted:wetandstormyinthesouthwestUSA,Texas, andmostoftheGulfCoast

PositiveOLR(OutgoingLongwaveRadiation) anomaliesindicatelessthanaveragerainfall, negativeanomaliessuggesthigherthanaverage rainfall.

Atthebeginningof1997SSTisclosetoaverageat mostlocations.HigherthanaverageSSTdevelops alongtheSouthPacificConvergenceZoneduring February,accompaniedaswesawbyhigherthan averagerainfall(inaccordancewiththepositive feedbackbetweenSSTandrainfall).

LaNia: OppositeconditionsStrongtradewinds;coldwaterupwellinginEast.Pacific Predictedweather: Moreseverehurricanes Severewinter,drysummerinMidwest Seasurfaceandthermoclineflatten

Sea surface temperature

Sea surface salinity