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 picture info Ocean Current An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of sea water generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, shoreline configurations, and interactions with other currents influence a current's direction and strength. Ocean currents are primarily horizontal water movements. An ocean current flows for great distances and together they create the global conveyor belt, which plays a dominant role in determining the climate of many of Earth’s regions. More specifically, ocean currents influence the temperature of the regions through which they travel. For example, warm currents traveling along more temperate coasts increase the temperature of the area by warming the sea breezes that blow over them [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...] picture info Antarctica Small-scale "expedition tourism" has existed since 1957 and is currently subject to Antarctic Treaty and Environmental Protocol provisions, but in effect self-regulated by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). Not all vessels associated with Antarctic tourism are members of IAATO, but IAATO members account for 95% of the tourist activity. Travel is largely by small or medium ship, focusing on specific scenic locations with accessible concentrations of iconic wildlife. A total of 37,506 tourists visited during the 2006–07 Austral summer with nearly all of them coming from commercial ships; 38,478 were recorded in 2015–16.[133][134][135] As of 2015, there are two Wells Fargo ATMs in Antarctica.[136] There has been some concern over the potential adverse environmental and ecosystem effects caused by the influx of visitors [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...] picture info North Atlantic Deep Water North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) is a deep water mass formed in the North Atlantic Ocean. Thermohaline circulation (properly described as meridional overturning circulation) of the world's oceans involves the flow of warm surface waters from the southern hemisphere into the North Atlantic. Water flowing northward becomes modified through evaporation and mixing with other water masses, leading to increased salinity. When this water reaches the North Atlantic it cools and sinks through convection, due to its decreased temperature and increased salinity resulting in increased density. NADW is the outflow of this thick deep layer, which can be detected by its high salinity, high oxygen content, nutrient minima, high 14C/12C,[1] and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).[2] CFCs are anthropogenic substances that enter the surface of the ocean from gas exchange with the atmosphere [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...] Deep Ocean Water Deep ocean water (DOW) is the name for cold, salty water found deep below the surface of Earth's oceans. Ocean water differs in temperature and salinity. Warm surface water is generally saltier than the cooler deep or polar waters;[1] in polar regions, the upper layers of ocean water are cold and fresh.[2] Deep ocean water makes up about 90% of the volume of the oceans. Deep ocean water has a very uniform temperature, around 0-3 °C, and a salinity of about 3.5% or as oceanographers state as 35 ppt (parts per thousand).[3] In specialized locations such as the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii NELHA ocean water is pumped to the surface from approximately 900 metres (3000 feet) deep for applications in research, commercial and pre-commercial activities [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...] picture info Density The density (more precisely, the volumetric mass density; also known as specific mass), of a substance is its mass per unit volume. The symbol most often used for density is ρ (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter D can also be used. Mathematically, density is defined as mass divided by volume:[1] ${\displaystyle \rho ={\frac {m}{V}}}$ where ρ is the density, m is the mass, and V is the volume [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...] picture info Upwelling Upwelling is an oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water from deep water towards the ocean surface, replacing the warmer, usually nutrient-depleted surface water. The nutrient-rich upwelled water stimulates the growth and reproduction of primary producers such as phytoplankton. Due to the biomass of phytoplankton and presence of cool water in these regions, upwelling zones can be identified by cool sea surface temperatures (SST) and high concentrations of chlorophyll-a.[2][3] The increased availability of nutrients in upwelling regions results in high levels of primary production and thus fishery production [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...] Density Gradient Density gradient is a spatial variation in density over an area. The term is used in the natural sciences to describe varying density of matter, but can apply to any quantity whose density can be measured.[1] [2] In the study of supersonic flight, Schlieren photography observes the density gradient of air as it interacts with aircraft. [3] Also in the field of Computational Fluid Dynamics, Density gradient is used to observe the acoustic waves, shock waves or expansion waves in the flow field. A steep density gradient in a body of water can have the effect of trapping energy and preventing convection, such a gradient is employed in solar ponds. In the case of salt water, sharp gradients can lead to stratification of different concentrations of salinity. This is called a Halocline [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...] picture info Polar Regions Of Earth The polar regions, also called the frigid zones, of Earth are the regions of the planet that surround its geographical poles (the North and South Poles), lying within the polar circles. These high latitudes are dominated by floating sea ice covering much of the Arctic ocean in the north, and by the Antarctic ice sheet on the continent of Antarctica in the South. The Arctic has various definitions, including the region north of the Arctic Circle (currently Epoch 2010 at 66°33'44" N), or the region north of 60° north latitude, or the region from the North Pole south to the timberline. The Antarctic is usually defined as south of 60° south latitude, or the continent of Antarctica [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...] picture info Ocean Basin In hydrology, an oceanic basin may be anywhere on Earth that is covered by seawater, but geologically, ocean basins are large geologic basins that are below sea level. Geologically, there are other undersea geomorphological features such as the continental shelves, the deep ocean trenches, and the undersea mountain ranges (for example, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Emperor Seamounts) which are not considered to be part of the ocean basins; while hydrologically, oceanic basins include the flanking continental shelves and the shallow epeiric seas. Older references (e.g., Littlehales 1930)[1] consider the oceanic basins to be the complement to the continents, with erosion dominating the latter, and the sediments so derived ending up in the ocean basins [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...] picture info Wind Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On the surface of the Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the Sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space. Winds are commonly classified by their spatial scale, their speed, the types of forces that cause them, the regions in which they occur, and their effect. The strongest observed winds on a planet in the Solar System occur on Neptune and Saturn. Winds have various aspects: velocity (wind speed); the density of the gas involved; energy content or wind energy. The wind is also an important means of transportation for seeds and small birds; with time things can travel thousands of miles in the wind. In meteorology, winds are often referred to according to their strength, and the direction from which the wind is blowing [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...] Zonal And Meridional Zonal and meridional flow are directions and regions of fluid flow on a globe. Zonal flow follows a pattern along latitudinal lines, latitudinal circles or in the west–east direction.[1] Meridional flow follows a pattern from north to south, or from south to north, along the Earth's longitude lines, longitudinal circles (meridian) or in the north–south direction.[2] These terms are often used in the atmospheric and earth sciences to describe global phenomena, such as "meridional wind", or "zonal average temperature". In the context of physics, zonal flow connotes a tendency of flux to conform to a pattern parallel to the equator of a sphere. In meteorological term regarding atmospheric circulation, zonal flow brings a temperature contrast along the Earth's longitude [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...] picture info Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans.[1] It is also known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, although some oceanographers call it the Arctic Mediterranean Sea. It is sometimes classified as an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean,[2][3] and it is also seen as the northernmost part of the all-encompassing World Ocean. The Arctic Ocean includes the North Pole region in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere, and extends south to about 60°N. The Arctic Ocean is surrounded by Eurasia and North America, and the borders follow topographic features; the Bering Strait on the Pacific side, and the Greenland Scotland Ridge on the Atlantic side [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]