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Czas
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how does density of ocean water affect how heat is distributed in the ocean??
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Through thermohaline circulation and the Global Ocean Conveyor Belt System (that thing that mysteriously and stupidly stopped in "The Day After Tomorrow").
The oceans are in constant motion both from winds that generate waves and currents and from the pull of gravity that creates the tides. The thermohaline circulation occurring within the ocean acts like a conveyor belt as oceans absorb, store, and redistribute vast amounts of the Sun's heat around the globe. Without this, places at the same latitude across the globe would generally have the same average temperatures. However, because of this circulation, Norway, located at similar latitude to Manitoba, Canada has an average annual temperature that is nearly 20°F warmer. Chicago (a miserable city, in my estimation) is at the exact same latitude as the warm resort and tourist city of Rome, Italy.
Thermohaline circulation is driven by changes in the density of sea water. The conveyor belt transfers warm water from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic as a shallow current and returns cold water from the Atlantic to the Pacific as a deep current that flows further south. Beginning in the central Pacific, it travels past the north coast of Australia and around the southern tip of Africa before moving up into the Atlantic. By the time it heads up the Atlantic it turns into the Gulf Stream. As it passes Europe, the surface water evaporates and the ocean water cools, releasing heat to the atmosphere. This release of heat is largely responsible for the relatively warm temperatures enjoyed by Western Europe. As the water becomes colder, it increases in salinity and becomes dense, sinking thousands of meters below the surface. The deep water slowly travels south through the oceanic abyss, eventually mixing upward to the surface in different parts of the world up to 1,000 years later.
The ocean conveyor belt plays a crucial role in helping to shape the Earth's climate. However, global climate changes could alter, or even halt, the current as we know it today. As the Earth heats up, there could be an increase in precipitation and a melting of freshwater ice in the Arctic Ocean (when salt water freezes it leaves the salt behind), which would flow into the Atlantic Ocean. This additional freshwater could dilute the Atlantic Gulf Stream to the point where it would not continue to sink into the depths of the ocean. This is all theoretical though, and I personally don't believe that there is any possibility of it possibly happening. Even if the climate changed enough to stop the belt, it would continue flowing through momentum alone for thousands of years, by which time it would have naturally restarted. However, the funny theory was played out with Dennis Quaid starring in "The Day After Tomorrow."
The oceans are in constant motion both from winds that generate waves and currents and from the pull of gravity that creates the tides. The thermohaline circulation occurring within the ocean acts like a conveyor belt as oceans absorb, store, and redistribute vast amounts of the Sun's heat around the globe. Without this, places at the same latitude across the globe would generally have the same average temperatures. However, because of this circulation, Norway, located at similar latitude to Manitoba, Canada has an average annual temperature that is nearly 20°F warmer. Chicago (a miserable city, in my estimation) is at the exact same latitude as the warm resort and tourist city of Rome, Italy.
Thermohaline circulation is driven by changes in the density of sea water. The conveyor belt transfers warm water from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic as a shallow current and returns cold water from the Atlantic to the Pacific as a deep current that flows further south. Beginning in the central Pacific, it travels past the north coast of Australia and around the southern tip of Africa before moving up into the Atlantic. By the time it heads up the Atlantic it turns into the Gulf Stream. As it passes Europe, the surface water evaporates and the ocean water cools, releasing heat to the atmosphere. This release of heat is largely responsible for the relatively warm temperatures enjoyed by Western Europe. As the water becomes colder, it increases in salinity and becomes dense, sinking thousands of meters below the surface. The deep water slowly travels south through the oceanic abyss, eventually mixing upward to the surface in different parts of the world up to 1,000 years later.
The ocean conveyor belt plays a crucial role in helping to shape the Earth's climate. However, global climate changes could alter, or even halt, the current as we know it today. As the Earth heats up, there could be an increase in precipitation and a melting of freshwater ice in the Arctic Ocean (when salt water freezes it leaves the salt behind), which would flow into the Atlantic Ocean. This additional freshwater could dilute the Atlantic Gulf Stream to the point where it would not continue to sink into the depths of the ocean. This is all theoretical though, and I personally don't believe that there is any possibility of it possibly happening. Even if the climate changed enough to stop the belt, it would continue flowing through momentum alone for thousands of years, by which time it would have naturally restarted. However, the funny theory was played out with Dennis Quaid starring in "The Day After Tomorrow."