What are geostrophic currents quizlet?
Geostrophic Flow. A current in the atmosphere in which the Coriolis force and the pressure gradient are in balance. determining velocity of upwelling. measuring isobaric and isoclinic slopes. Topography.
What is a Geostrophic gyre quizlet?
The horizontal movement of surface water arising from a balance between the pressure gradient force and the Coriolis force is known as geostrophic flow. As noted earlier, viewed from above, geostrophic flow in a subtropical gyre is clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
What is geostrophic balance quizlet?
The geostrophic balance is the balance found where the air is not accelerating. In this balance, the horizontal pressure gradient force is pointed toward low pressure (it always is) and the Coriolis force is pointed in the opposite direction.
What rule specifies that regardless of salinity The major ions always appear in the same ratio to each other?
The rule of constancy of composition of sea salts for open-ocean water specifies that regardless of the salinity the major ions always appear in the same ratio to each other.
What is the largest Geostrophic current?
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current It transports about 134 million cubic metres (4.7 billion cubic feet) of seawater per second over a path of about 24,000 km (about 14,900 miles) and is the most important factor in diminishing the differences between oceans.
What forces are responsible for currents?
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. Currents are cohesive streams of seawater that circulate through the ocean.
What is the largest geostrophic current?
Which two forces are most important in controlling the direction of the geostrophic current?
The rotation of the earth results in a “force” being felt by the water moving from the high to the low, known as Coriolis force. The Coriolis force acts at right angles to the flow, and when it balances the pressure gradient force, the resulting flow is known as geostrophic.
What two forces are in equilibrium when the atmosphere is in geostrophic balance?
Geostrophic Wind: winds balanced by the Coriolis and Pressure Gradient forces. An air parcel initially at rest will move from high pressure to low pressure because of the pressure gradient force (PGF).
Why is that marine water is not uniform in terms of salinity?
The ocean does not have a uniform salinity. As ocean water flows toward the polar region from the Equator, it passes the subtropical high-pressure zones that have very little precipitation but intense solar radiation that promotes evaporation.
Why do we say there is one world ocean?
We say there is one world ocean because all of the oceans are “connected.” How is Ocean deep water different from shallow water? It has different salinity, temperature, chemical composition, and density. Deep water is colder, saltier, and therefore, denser than surface water.
What is meant by geostrophic current?
A geostrophic current is an oceanic current in which the pressure gradient force is balanced by the Coriolis effect. The direction of geostrophic flow is parallel to the isobars, with the high pressure to the right of the flow in the Northern Hemisphere, and the high pressure to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.