Earth Systems Science

OCEAN CIRCULATION II: DEEP OCEAN

Salinity
Thermohaline circulation
Ocean circulation and climate
SALINITY
NOTE: Some
of these will be
important
when studying
the carbon
cycle
SALINITY
1. Why is salinity important for ocean circulation?
2. From where does the salt in the ocean originate?
3. To where does the salt in the ocean go?
1. Salinity, in addition to temperature, determines the density of
the water, which is the driving force for deep ocean
circulation.
2. The source of salts in the ocean is weathering. This is the
process whereby water flowing over and through the land
picks up dissolved minerals (i.e. salts). Those waters
eventually flow out into the ocean.
3. Salts do not evaporate along with the ocean water. So, when
ocean water evaporates, it leaves the salts behind. This would
lead to ever-increasing salt concentrations if there were no
other sinks.
Sinks of salt in the ocean include:
In shallow seas evaporation leaves such high salt
concentrations that the water becomes saturated, and the
resulting precipitate forms evaporite deposits.
Removal of salt by microorganisms to form shells, some of
which are eventually deposited on the ocean floor.
Chemical reactions with newly formed sea floor
Removal by wind from evaporated sea spray
SALINITY
Over long time periods, and averaged over the globe, the amount
of salt in the oceans is in dynamic equilibrium.
Regionally, there can be differences in salt concentrations due to
variations in the salt concentration of river runoff, and the
amount of precipitation, runoff, and outflow. For example,
where evaporation exceeds precipitation, and there is little
runoff, salinity usually increases.
SALINITY
THERMOHALINE CIRCULATION
Deep ocean circulation.
Driven by density variations which are due to temperature
and salinity variations.
Slower than surface circulation, but important over long
time scales (100s to millions of yrs)
SURFACE ZONE
Top 50 100 meters
Exchanges energy with the atmosphere through latent heat,
radiation, and kinetic energy
Generally well-mixed by the wind, so is often referred to as
the mixed layer
PYCNOCLINE
~1 km below the mixed layer
Region of sharp increase in density, very stable, prevents
mixing between mixed layer and deep ocean
DEEP OCEAN
1-5 km deep
Stable density gradient
Observed temperature distributions
Western Atlantic
Central Pacific
no gradient
no gradient
no gradient
Observed salinity distributions
no gradient
weak gradient
no gradient
Western Atlantic
Central Pacific
DEEP WATER FORMATION
Dense water formed in the Weddell Sea (Antarctic Bottom
Water, AABW) and in the North Atlantic Ocean near
Greenland (North Atlantic Deep Water, NADW) sinks
This sinking water initiates a slow moving deep ocean
circulation
Average residence time in the deep ocean is hundreds of
years
Why is this water dense?
Ice formation: rejection of salt
Evaporation from Gulf Stream
DEEP WATER FLOW AT 4000 m DEPTH
THE THERMOHALINE CONVEYOR BELT
http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEAWIFS/IMAGES/
SEAWIFS Mean Chlorophyl September 97 - August 2000
Center of gyres downwelling few sources of nutrients little biological activity
Areas with nutrient input from rivers or from upwelling more biological activity
MEDITERRANEAN OUTFLOW AT 1000m
Temperature (C)
Salinity 0/00
Remember this from chapter 4