Antarctic Circumpolar Current
   HOME



picture info

Antarctic Circumpolar Current
Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is an ocean current that flows clockwise (as seen from the South Pole) from west to east around Antarctica. An alternative name for the ACC is the West Wind Drift. The ACC is the dominant circulation feature of the Southern Ocean and has a mean transport estimated at 137 ± 7 Sverdrups (Sv, million m3/s), or possibly even higher, making it the largest ocean current. The current is circumpolar due to the lack of any landmass connecting with Antarctica and this keeps warm ocean waters away from Antarctica, enabling that continent to maintain its huge ice sheet. Associated with the Circumpolar Current is the Antarctic Convergence, where the cold Antarctic waters meet the warmer waters of the subantarctic, creating a zone of upwelling nutrients. These nurture high levels of phytoplankton with associated copepods and krill, and resultant food chains supporting fish, whales, Pinniped, seals, penguins, albatrosses, and a wealth of Wildlife of A ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Jack London
John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to become an international celebrity and earn a large fortune from writing. He was also an innovator in the genre that would later become known as science fiction. London was part of the radical literary group "The Crowd" in San Francisco and a passionate advocate of animal welfare, Labor rights, workers' rights and socialism.Swift, John N. "Jack London's 'The Unparalleled Invasion': Germ Warfare, Eugenics, and Cultural Hygiene." American Literary Realism, vol. 35, no. 1, 2002, pp. 59–71. .Hensley, John R. "Eugenics and Social Darwinism in Stanley Waterloo's 'The Story of Ab' and Jack London's 'Before Adam.'" Studies in Popular Culture, vol. 25, no. 1, 2002, pp. 23–37. . London wrote several works dealing with these topics, such as his ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Bathymetric
Bathymetry (; ) is the study of underwater depth of ocean floors ('' seabed topography''), river floors, or lake floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography. The first recorded evidence of water depth measurements are from Ancient Egypt over 3000 years ago. Bathymetry has various uses including the production of bathymetric charts to guide vessels and identify underwater hazards, the study of marine life near the floor of water bodies, coastline analysis and ocean dynamics, including predicting currents and tides. Bathymetric charts (not to be confused with '' hydrographic charts''), are typically produced to support safety of surface or sub-surface navigation, and usually show seafloor relief or terrain as contour lines (called '' depth contours'' or '' isobaths'') and selected depths ('' soundings''), and typically also provide surface navigational information. Bathymetric maps (a more general term where navigational safety ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Landform
A landform is a land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. They may be natural or may be anthropogenic (caused or influenced by human activity). Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement in the landscape is known as topography. Landforms include hills, mountains, canyons, and valleys, as well as shoreline features such as bays, peninsulas, and seas, including submerged features such as mid-ocean ridges, volcanoes, and the great oceanic basins. Physical characteristics Landforms are categorized by characteristic physical attributes such as elevation, slope, orientation, structure stratification, rock exposure, and soil type. Gross physical features or landforms include intuitive elements such as berms, cliffs, hills, mounds, peninsulas, ridges, rivers, valleys, volcanoes, and numerous other structural and size-scaled (e.g. ponds vs. lakes, hills vs. mountains) elements including various kinds of inland ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continents of Asia and Australia in the west and the Americas in the east. At in area (as defined with a southern Antarctic border), the Pacific Ocean is the largest division of the World Ocean and the hydrosphere and covers approximately 46% of Earth's water surface and about 32% of the planet's total surface area, larger than its entire land area ().Pacific Ocean
. ''Encyclopædia Britannica, Britannica Concise.'' 2008: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
The centers of both the Land and water hemispheres, water hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere, as well as the Pole of inaccessi ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for separating the New World of the Americas (North America and South America) from the Old World of Afro-Eurasia (Africa, Asia, and Europe). Through its separation of Afro-Eurasia from the Americas, the Atlantic Ocean has played a central role in the development of human society, globalization, and the histories of many nations. While the Norse colonization of North America, Norse were the first known humans to cross the Atlantic, it was the expedition of Christopher Columbus in 1492 that proved to be the most consequential. Columbus's expedition ushered in an Age of Discovery, age of exploration and colonization of the Americas by European powers, most notably Portuguese Empire, Portugal, Spanish Empire, Sp ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Weddell Gyre
The Weddell Gyre is one of the two gyres that exist within the Southern Ocean. The gyre is formed by interactions between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and the Antarctic Continental Shelf. The gyre is located in the Weddell Sea, and rotates clockwise. South of the ACC and spreading northeast from the Antarctic Peninsula, the gyre is an extended large cyclone. Where the northeastern end ends at 30°E, which is marked by the southward turn of the ACC, the northern part of the gyre spreads over the Southern Scotia Sea and goes northward to the South Sandwich Arc. Axis of the gyre is over the southern flanks of the South Scotia, America-Antarctic, and Southwest Indian Ridges. In the southern part of the gyre, the westward return flow is about 66sverdrup(Sv), while in the northern rim current, there is an eastward flow of 61Sv. Physical oceanography Due to the Coriolis force acting to the left in the Southern Hemisphere and the resulting Ekman transport away from the ce ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Ross Gyre
The Ross Gyre is one of three gyres that exists within the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, the others being the Weddell Gyre and Balleny Gyre. The Ross Gyre is located north of the Ross Sea, and rotates clockwise. The gyre is formed by interactions between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the Antarctic Continental Shelf. The Ross Gyre is bounded by the Polar Front of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current to the north, the Antarctic Slope Current to the south, the Balleny Gyre to the west, and a variable boundary to the east from semiannual changes in sea surface height (SSH) in the Amundsen Sea. Circulation in the Ross Gyre has been estimated to be 20 ± 5 Sverdrup (Sv) and plays a large role in heat exchange in this region. The salinity,Jacobs, S. S., Giulivi, C. F., & Mele, P. A. (2002). Freshening of the Ross Sea during the late 20th century. (Reports). ''Science'', ''297''(5580), 386+. https://link-gale-com.oregonstate.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/A90164002/PPES?u=s8405248&sid ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

South East Cape
South East Cape is a cape located at the southernmost point of the main island of Tasmania, the southernmost state in Australia. The cape is situated in the southern and south-eastern corner of the Southwest National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, approximately southwest of Hobart in Tasmania and about east and slightly south of South West Cape. South East Cape marks the official dividing line between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Location and features South East Cape is the southernmost point of the mainland of Tasmania but not of the state of Tasmania. The Maatsuyker Islands and the Pedra Branca island group, just offshore, are also part of the state of Tasmania and lie further south than South East Cape. The state of Tasmania also includes Macquarie Island Macquarie Island is a subantarctic island in the south-western Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica. It has been governed as a part of Tasmania, Aust ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Cape Agulhas
Cape Agulhas (; , "Cape of Needles") is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa. It is the geographic southern tip of Africa and the beginning of the traditional dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian oceans according to the International Hydrographic Organization. It is approximately half a degree of latitude, or , farther south than the Cape of Good Hope. Historically, the cape has been known to sailors as a major hazard on the traditional clipper route. It is sometimes regarded as one of the great capes. It was most commonly known in English as Cape L'Agulhas until the 20th century. The town of L'Agulhas is near the cape. Geography Cape Agulhas is located in the Overberg region, 170 kilometres (105 mi) southeast of Cape Town. The cape was named by Portuguese navigators, who called it ''Cabo das Agulhas''— Portuguese for "Cape of Needles"—after noticing that around the year 1500 the direction of magnetic north (and therefore the compass ne ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Sailing Directions
General information Sailing Directions are volumes published by various National Hydrographic Offices or Coast Guard Agencies which provide essential information to support port entry and coastal navigation for all classes of ships at sea. Sailing directions are part of the carriage requirements defined by the SOLAS Convention. Content Sailing Directions contain information on countries, navigational hazards, buoyage, pilotage, regulations, anchorages and port facilities, seasonal currents, ice and climatic conditions. Diagrams and photos are included to help identifying places through textual description during coastal navigation and to support the passage planning stage. This information, when used alongside official navigational charts, will provide context and can help to increase the situational awareness of the bridge team. Sailing directions, also known as Pilots, provide the local knowledge and awareness which would typically be provided by a local marine pilot. Hi ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Clipper Route
The clipper route was derived from the Brouwer Route and was sailed by clipper, clipper ships between Europe and the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. The route, devised by the Dutch navigator Hendrik Brouwer in 1611, reduced the time of a voyage between The Netherlands and Java, in the Dutch East Indies, from almost 12 months to about six months, compared to the previous Arab and Portuguese monsoon route. The clipper route ran from west to east through the Southern Ocean, making use of the consistently strong westerly winds called the Roaring Forties. Many ships and sailors were lost in the heavy conditions along the route, particularly at Cape Horn, which the clippers had to round on their return to Europe. The clipper route fell into commercial disuse with the introduction of marine steam engines, and the opening of the Suez Canal, Suez and Panama Canals. It remains the fastest sailing route around the world, and has been the route for several prominent yacht racing, yac ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]