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“Ocean Basics”

“Ocean Basics”. Michael J Passow AMS Teacher Workshop Austin, TX Jan 8, 2013. There is really only 1 ocean. http:// www.platetectonics.com/oceanfloors/images/Worldmap_2D.jpg. Continents and other land masses divide the waters at some latitudes.

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“Ocean Basics”

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  1. “Ocean Basics” Michael J PassowAMS Teacher WorkshopAustin, TX Jan 8, 2013

  2. There is really only 1 ocean http://www.platetectonics.com/oceanfloors/images/Worldmap_2D.jpg

  3. Continents and other land masses divide the waters at some latitudes

  4. Studying the ocean floors is relatively recent and very incomplete Marie Tharp worked with Dr. Bruce Heezen at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University to map features of the ocean floors. Hali Felt, 2012Macmillianhttp://halifelt.com/soundings-book/

  5. “The Water Cycle” http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle.html

  6. The Ocean-Atmosphere Connection Creates Weather and Climates • Variations in heating/cooling and Earth’s rotation (Coriolis effect) create global winds http://schoolworkhelper.net/what-makes-the-wind-blow-factors-affecting-winds-patterns/

  7. Surface Ocean Currents Caused in part by Global Winds http://www.learner.org/jnorth/images/graphics/n-r/OceanCurrentsUSNOO.gif

  8. Surface Currents and Deep-Sea Currents Surface Currents • ‘Driven’ by global wind patterns • Shallow (<50 m) • Fast (1 – 5 kt; m/hr) • Carry heat energy toward higher latitudes Deep-Sea Currents • ‘Driven’ by density differences (salinity & temperature) • Layered down to ocean bottom • Slow (m/yr) • Influence long-term climate changes

  9. Density-Driven Deep-sea Currents http://oceanmotion.org/html/background/ocean-conveyor-belt.htm

  10. Waves and Beaches

  11. When most students and teachers think of the ocean, they think of waves • Waves break as they approach the shore when the trough is slowed and the crest continues until it ‘outruns’ support and collapses forward http://www.crd.bc.ca/watersheds/protection/geology-processes/waves.htm

  12. Ocean Tides • Gravity and inertia act in opposition on the Earth’s oceans, creating tidal bulges on opposite sites of the planet. • On the “near” side of the Earth (the side facing the moon), the gravitational force of the moon pulls the ocean’s waters toward it, creating one bulge. • On the far side of the Earth, inertia dominates, creating a second bulge. http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/tides/media/supp_tide03.html

  13. Actually, it’s not so simple http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.shtml

  14. Changing Sea Levels • A final point – many factors combine to create rising sea level across the globe http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/oceanography-book/beachprocesses.htm

  15. Climate and Changing Sea Levels • ‘Global warming’ can result in thermal expansion – water increases in volume when it warms • ‘Melting glaciers’ in Greenland and Antarctica add liquid water to the oceans http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2011/10/20090206-6-meter-sea-level-rise.jpg

  16. To learn more, start at: • AMS DataStreme Oceanhttp://www.ametsoc.org/amsedu/DS-Ocean/home.html • NOAA Ocean Explorerhttp://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/welcome.html • NOAA Educational Resources – Oceans & Coastshttp://www.education.noaa.gov/Ocean_and_Coasts/ • Hali Felt, 2012, “Soundings” Henry Holt & Co

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