What is thermohaline circulation simple?

Thermohaline circulation is what allows water from the surface of the ocean to mix with deeper waters. The name contains parameters that affect the cause of mixing: «thermo», i.e. temperature and «haline», i.e. salinity.

What is thermohaline circulation and how does it work?

Thermohaline circulation begins in the Earth’s polar regions. When ocean water in these areas gets very cold, sea ice forms. The surrounding seawater gets saltier, increases in density and sinks. Winds drive ocean currents in the upper 100 meters of the ocean’s surface.

What is thermohaline circulation quizlet?

Thermohaline circulation is a worldwide current system in which the warmer, fresher water moves along the surface while the colder, saltier water moves beneath it. Thermohaline Circulation transports energy throughout the ocean, playing an important role in regulating temperature.

Why is it called the thermohaline circulation?

The adjective thermohaline derives from thermo- referring to temperature and -haline referring to salt content, factors which together determine the density of sea water. The thermohaline circulation is sometimes called the ocean conveyor belt, the great ocean conveyor, or the global conveyor belt.

What is thermohaline circulation kids?

Thermohaline circulation transports and mixes the water of the oceans. In the process it transports heat, which influences regional climate patterns. The density of seawater is determined by the temperature and salinity of a volume of seawater at a particular location.

What is the meaning of downwelling?

a downward current of surface water in the ocean, usually caused by differences in the density of seawater.

Where is the thermohaline circulation?

northern North Atlantic
The basic thermohaline circulation is one of sinking of cold water in the polar regions, chiefly in the northern North Atlantic and near Antarctica. These dense water masses spread into the full extent of the ocean and gradually upwell to feed a slow return flow to the sinking regions.

What is gyre in science definition?

A gyre is a large system of rotating ocean currents.

What causes thermohaline circulation quizlet?

thermohaline circulation- vertical circulation caused by changes in density; driven by variations in temperature and salinity. As the salinity increases, the density increases; as the temperature increases, the density decreases.

How thermohaline circulation is influenced by salinity and temperature?

Thermohaline circulation is influenced by changes in density gradients. These density gradients are affected by the salinity and temperature of the ocean’s water. Cold water is denser than warm water and salt water is denser than freshwater. As water cools off, it sinks.

Where is the thermohaline?

The basic thermohaline circulation is one of sinking of cold water in the polar regions, chiefly in the northern North Atlantic and near Antarctica. These dense water masses spread into the full extent of the ocean and gradually upwell to feed a slow return flow to the sinking regions.

What is thermohaline convection?

[¦thər·mō′hā‚līn kən′vek·shən] (oceanography) Vertical water movement observed when sea water, due to conditions of decreasing temperature or increasing salinity, becomes heavier than the water beneath it.

Which ocean currents are categorized as thermohaline?

Winds drive ocean currents in the upper 100 meters of the ocean’s surface. However, ocean currents also flow thousands of meters below the surface. These deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in the water’s density, which is controlled by temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline). This process is known as thermohaline circulation.

How does the thermocline circulation effect climate?

The thermohaline circulation plays an important role in supplying heat to the polar regions. Therefore, it influences the rate of sea ice formation near the poles, which in turn affects other aspects of the climate system (such as the albedo, and thus solar heating, at high latitudes).

How does downwelling drive thermohaline circulation?

Cooling or evaporation of fresh water from the sea surface makes surface water dense. This causes the surface water to undergo downwelling.

What causes Thermohaline currents?

Thermohaline circulation, or the sinking of highly dense surface water, is the source of deep currents in oceans. Thermohaline circulation can only develop in extremely cold regions where the temperature of the air is low enough to make the surface water very cold, highly salty and more dense than the water beneath it.