What happens in the North Atlantic that drives deep ocean circulation?
Formation and movement of the deep-water masses at the North Atlantic Ocean, creates sinking water masses that fill the basin and flow very slowly into the deep abyssal plains of the Atlantic. This high-latitude cooling and the low-latitude heating drives the movement of the deep water in a polar southward flow.
What direction is the water circulation in the North Atlantic?
clockwise
The North Atlantic Ocean Gyre always flows in a steady, clockwise path around the North Atlantic Ocean. Some gyres experience seasonal variation, however. The Indian Ocean Gyre is a complex system of many currents extending from the eastern coast of Africa to the western coast of Australia.
Where does deep water circulation occur?
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 causes NADW?
North Atlantic Deep Water or NADW is mainly produced where the surface ocean is cooled in the Norwegian Sea in the northern part of the North Atlantic on the north side of a ridge that runs between Greenland, Iceland, and Scotland. This cooled water seeps through the ridge and downwells.
What drives deep ocean circulation?
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 circulation affect the northern and southern hemispheres?
Because the Earth rotates on its axis, circulating air is deflected toward the right in the Northern Hemisphere and toward the left in the Southern Hemisphere. This deflection is called the Coriolis effect.
What is at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean?
The deepest part of the north Atlantic is probably somewhere between the Bermudas and the Grand Banks. The waters of the GnU of Mexico are held in a basin about a mile deep in the deepest part.
Why does the Atlantic Ocean have the best ports?
The indented coastline in the Atlantic Ocean means the coastline is ideal for natural harbours and ports. Hence, the Atlantic Ocean is the busiest ocean from commercial point of view. n an indented coastline , water comes close to the harbour providing a large entrance to the ships.
Where in the North Atlantic Ocean does deep water formation occur?
Formation of North Atlantic Deep Water. The formation of North Atlantic Deep Water. Cold, dense, deep water forms in two areas of the northern North Atlantic in the Labrador Sea (between Greenland and Canada) and in the GIN Sea (between Greenland, Iceland and Norway).
What causes deep water circulation?
Where is NADW formed?
Cold, dense, deep water forms in two areas of the northern North Atlantic in the Labrador Sea (between Greenland and Canada) and in the GIN Sea (between Greenland, Iceland and Norway). Because it originates in the North Atlantic it is known as North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW).
What is the general pattern of deep water circulation?
The three main patterns of ocean circulation are gyres, upwelling, and thermohaline circulation.\nPatterns of ocean circulation: Gyres\nAs the prevailing winds in earth’s atmosphere blow across the surface of the oceans, the winds push water in the direction that they’re blowing.