1 / 27

Exploring Deep Ocean Circulation and Water Masses: A Climate Change Study

Discover the intricate dynamics of deep ocean circulation, water masses, and their role in global climate change. From the Great Conveyor Belt to the impact on the carbon cycle and gas hydrates, delve into the key processes shaping our oceans and atmosphere.

sandovalb
Download Presentation

Exploring Deep Ocean Circulation and Water Masses: A Climate Change Study

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Music today: Little Mermaid, “Under the Sea”WELCOME OSU MOMS!!

  2. Deep Ocean Circulation Motion in the Ocean, Part 2, or Who wants to ride the Great Conveyor Belt?

  3. Surface Circulation

  4. How does the Deep Ocean respond to Surface Circulation? • The main gyres move heat and salt • Resulting DENSITY variations lead to vertical flow (sinking) • Formation of “water masses”, characterized by Temperature, Salinity

  5. Density Variation in Sea Water

  6. North Atlantic Circulation

  7. Density-Driven Water Flow • Called “Thermohaline Circulation”, because temperature and salinity together determine density of seawater“Thermo” = temperature“haline” = salt

  8. Where does the Ocean’s Deepest Water Come From? • The densest seawater is cold and salty • This is formed at high latitudes in the North and South Atlantic:North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW)Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW)

  9. Density of Sea Water NADW * * AABW

  10. Density Rules!

  11. Deep Water Masses

  12. Water Masses and oceanmixing

  13. Mediterranean Water

  14. Mediterranean Water

  15. Mediterranean Water

  16. Deep Atlantic Circulation

  17. Tracers in the Ocean • Track the motion (direction and velocity) • 14C, cosmic rays in the upper atmos (half-life is 5700 years)3H, nuclear weapons testing (half-life is 12.5 years)CFCs, chlorinated fluoro-carbons

  18. The Great Conveyor Belt

  19. Consequences of Global Flow • Ocean turnover is about 1500 years (time for a round trip on the conveyor belt) • Deep water (made in the polar Atlantic) contains abundant O2 and CO2 • The high O2 content promotes oxidation of bottom sediments • The CO2 content controls CCD (Carbonate Compensation Depth)

  20. Carbon Cycle and Global Warming • The temperature of bottom water formation determines how much CO2 is dissolved in deep ocean water • The rate of overturn of the oceans determines the “burial rate” of C from the atmosphere • Organic C accumulates in sediments, depending on the O2 content of deep ocean

  21. Carbon Cycle and Global Warming • Organic C in sediments is reduced to CH4 (methane gas) • Methane gas migrates upward and can be trapped as frozen “gas hydrates” near the ocean floor

  22. Gas Hydrates

  23. Gas Hydrates

  24. Gas Hydrates

  25. Gas Hydrates

  26. Climate Change Concerns • What happens when sea level falls? • What happens when deep water warms? • Both effects liberate gas hydrates (CH4), which combines with O2 to form CO2, ultimately reaching the atmosphere

  27. Deep Ocean Circulation • The ocean has an enormous capacity to absorb and release greenhouse gases • So, the rate, temperature and composition of seawater circulating through the deep ocean is vitally important in assessing long term climate change

More Related