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Thermohaline Circulation

Thermohaline Circulation. Carisa Sousa. Description. Defining - terminology Meridional Overturning Movement “Overturning” - Pacific and Indian Oceans Vertical Mixing vs Sinking? Spreading via currents? Water Masses T-S plots, water properties. Downwelling.

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Thermohaline Circulation

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  1. Thermohaline Circulation Carisa Sousa

  2. Description • Defining - terminology • Meridional Overturning • Movement • “Overturning” - Pacific and Indian Oceans • Vertical Mixing vs Sinking? • Spreading via currents? • Water Masses • T-S plots, water properties

  3. Downwelling • Specific zones in the North Atlantic and Southern Oceans • Evaporative Cooling • Increase in Salinity  Increase in Density • (Nor Sea, S.O.) • Sea Ice formation • “Ice Factories” • Topography – steers flow, blocks flow • Pacific deep water formation? • Salinity

  4. North Atlantic • DSOW Denmark Strait Overflow Water; LSW, Labrador Sea Water; NEADW, Northeast Atlantic Deep Water; NADW, North Atlantic Deep Water; EGC, East Greenland Current; LC, Labrador Current; WBUC, Western Boundary Undercurrent (Hillaire-Marcel, 2001.)

  5. Upwelling • Vertical Mixing • Diffusion? • Advection? • North Pacific and Indian Oceans • Sea level higher • Southern Ocean  Ekman divergence

  6. Importance • Heat Transport • Gulf Stream Example • Climate Regulator • CO2 cycle  climate cycle

  7. Climate Change • Shutdown of THC • North Atlantic cooling • Unlikely • Glacier Melt  Freshening • Other factors: wind? • Even if weakening occurs, Warming>Cooling?

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