Upload
hakhue
View
225
Download
7
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
384
What Yoursquoll Learnbull How scientists study
oceans how the oceansformed and where theyare located
bull How the physical andchemical properties ofseawater differ fromthose of freshwater
bull What causes tideswaves and ocean currents
Why Itrsquos ImportantMore than 71 percent ofEarthrsquos surface is coveredby oceans These vastbodies of water affectweather climate foodsupplies recreationglobal trade and marinelife such as this hump-back whale in ParadiseBay Antarctica
PhysicalOceanographyPhysicalOceanography
1515
To learn more aboutoceanography visit theEarth Science Web Site at earthgeucom
151 The Oceans 385
Earth is often referred to as theldquoblue planetrdquo because so much of itssurface is made up of water If youstudy a globe or a photograph ofEarth taken from space you canclearly see that oceans cover muchmore of Earth than landmasses doThis activity will help you to quantifythe amount of water on Earthrsquos surface
1 Stretch a piece of string about 1 min length around the equator of aglobe
2 Use a blue marker to color the sec-tions of the string that cross theoceans
3 Measure the length of theglobersquos equator then measurethe length of each blue sectionon the string Add the lengthsof the blue sections
4 Divide the total length of theblue sections by the length ofthe globersquos equator
Observe What percentage ofthe globersquos equator is made up ofoceans What percentage of theglobersquos equator is made up ofland Study the globe again Are theoceans separate bodies of water or dothey interconnect Describe yourobservations in your science journal
Measure EarthrsquosLand and Water
Discovery LabDiscovery Lab
OBJECTIVES
bull Identify methods used byscientists to study Earthrsquosoceans
bull Discuss the origin andcomposition of theoceans
bull Describe the distributionof oceans and major seas
VOCABULARY
oceanographyside-scan sonarsea level
Since prehistoric times people have used Earthrsquos oceans for traveland recreation and to obtain food Early Polynesians andPhoenicians were accomplished sailors who discovered new landsand sea routes for commerce These seafarers acquired considerableknowledge of the oceans but they lacked the technology to explorethe ocean depths Such exploration had to wait until the late 1800swhen the British Challenger expedition became the first research shipto use relatively sophisticated measuring devices to study the oceansChallenger also was the first expedition devoted exclusively to the sci-entific study of Earthrsquos oceans known as oceanography The disci-pline of oceanography is usually considered to have started with theChallenger
MODERN OCEANOGRAPHYThe Challenger expedition investigated ocean currents water temper-ature and chemical composition seafloor sediments and topography
The Oceans151151
null
63111206
eng - iTunNORM 00000122 00000000 000011BA 00000000 00012DBC 00000000 00006669 00000000 00094768 00000000
null track 13
6799658
eng - iTunes_CDDB_12407B503+1975+3+151+51135+102716
eng - iTunes_CDDB_TrackNumber1
and marine life The expedition used nets bottom dredges and othertools to gather enough research to fill 50 thick volumes Later expe-ditions such as that of the German research ship Meteor in the 1920sused sonar for the first time to map the seafloor features of the SouthAtlantic Ocean including the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Sonar stands forsound navigation and ranging It uses the return time of an echo andthe known velocity of sound in water to determine water depth Thevelocity of sound in water is 1500 ms To determine ocean depth ina particular place scientists send a sonar signal to the ocean floorand time its return or echo They multiply the time by 1500 msthen divide by 2 to calculate the distance to the ocean floor Figure15-1 has more information about sonar
Advanced Technology Recent technological advances such as the one shown in Figure 15-2 have tremendously expanded scien-tific knowledge of the oceans Satellites such as the TopexPoseidon continually monitor the oceanrsquos surface temperatures cur-rents and wave conditions Submersibles or underwater vesselsinvestigate the deepest ocean trenches Large portions of the seafloorhave been mapped using side-scan sonar a technique that directssound waves to the seafloor at an angle so that the sides of under-water hills and other topographic features can be mapped Yoursquoll
386 CHAPTER 15 Physical Oceanography
Figure 15-1 A shipequipped with sonar cangather data about deep-lake and ocean-floor fea-tures (A) Computers usethe resulting data to makemaps of underwater fea-tures such as this color-enhanced map of LakeTahoe in Nevada (B)
A B
learn more about seafloor topography in the next chapter For nowletrsquos examine what all the various oceanography studies have taughtus about the oceanrsquos origin and composition
ORIGIN OF THE OCEANSHave you ever wondered whether Earth has always had oceansSeveral geological clues indicate that oceans have existed almostsince the beginning of geologic history Studies of radioactive iso-topes indicate that Earth is about 46 billion years old Scientists havefound rocks nearly as old that formed from sediments deposited inwater Ancient lava flows are another cluemdashsome of these lava flowshave glassy crusts that form only when molten lava is chilled rapidlyunder water Radioactive studies and lava flows offer evidence thatthere has been abundant water throughout Earthrsquos geologic history
Where did the water come from Scientists hypothesize thatEarthrsquos water could have originated from two sources Comets suchas the one shown in Figure 15-3 travel throughout the solar systemand occasionally collide with Earth These impacts release water pos-sibly enough to have filled the ocean basins over geologic time Inaddition studies of meteorites which are composed of the samematerial that may have formed the early planets indicate that mete-orites contain up to 05 percent water If the early Earth containedthe same percentage of water it would have been more than suffi-cient to form the early oceans However some mechanism must haveexisted to allow the water to rise from deep in Earthrsquos interior to itssurface Scientists theorize that that mechanism was volcanism
Figure 15-2 The TopexPoseidon satellite orbits1331 km above Earth gathering data about the oceans
151 The Oceans 387
Figure 15-3 Comets suchas Hyakutake are composedof dust and rock particlesmixed with frozen waterand gases Early in Earthrsquosgeologic history collisionswith comets may havereleased water that over an extremely long period of time formed the first oceans
Figure 15-4 In addition tocomets water for Earthrsquosearly oceans may have comefrom volcanic eruptions Anintense period of volcanismoccurred shortly after theplanet formed This volcan-ism released large quanti-ties of water vapor andother gases into the atmo-sphere The water vaporeventually condensed intooceans
Volcanism During volcanic eruptions significant quantities ofgases are emitted These volcanic gases consist mostly of water vaporand carbon dioxide Shortly after the formation of Earth when theyoung planet was much hotter than it is today an episode of massiveviolent volcanism took place over the course of perhaps several hun-dred million years As shown in Figure 15-4 this volcanism releasedhuge amounts of water vapor carbon dioxide and other gases whichcombined to form Earthrsquos early atmosphere As Earthrsquos crust cooledthe water vapor gradually condensed into oceans By the time theoldest known crustal rock formed some 4 billion years ago Earthrsquosoceans may have been close to their present size Water is still beingadded to the hydrosphere by volcanism but some water molecules inthe atmosphere are continually being destroyed by ultraviolet radia-tion from the Sun These two processes balance each other What doyou think would happen over geologic time if they didnrsquot
DISTRIBUTION OF EARTHrsquoS WATERThe oceans contain 97 percent of the water found on Earth Another3 percent is freshwater located in the frozen ice caps of Greenlandand Antarctica and in rivers lakes and underground sources Thepercentage of ice on Earth has varied over geologic time from nearzero to perhaps as much as 10 percent of the hydrosphere Thusglobal sea level which is the level of the oceansrsquo surfaces has risenand fallen by hundreds of meters in response to melting ice duringwarm periods and expanding glaciers during ice ages Otherprocesses that affect sea level are tectonic forces that lift or lower por-tions of the seafloor A rising seafloor causes a rise in sea level while
388 CHAPTER 15 Physical Oceanography
Carbon dioxideHydrogen
Chlorine Water vaporNitrogen
Equator
a sinking seafloor causes sea level to drop At present average globalsea level is slowly rising at a rate of 1 to 2 mm per year in response tomelting glaciers
The Blue Planet As shown in the image of Earth in Figure 15-5Earth is known as the ldquoblue planetrdquo for good reasonmdashapproximately71 percent of its surface is covered by oceans The average depth ofthese oceans is 3800 m Earthrsquos landmasses are like huge islandsalmost entirely surrounded by water Because most landmasses arein the northern hemisphere oceans cover only 61 percent of the sur-face there However 81 percent of the southern hemisphere is cov-ered by water Figure 15-6 shows the distribution of water in thenorthern and southern hemispheres Note that all the oceans arereally one vast interconnected body of water They have beendivided into specific oceans and seas largely because of historic andgeographic considerations
151 The Oceans 389
Figure 15-5 The vast inter-connected oceans of Earththe ldquoblue planetrdquo canclearly be seen in this com-puter image The colors rep-resent the speeds of oceancurrents Red is the fastestblue is the slowest
Equator
Figure 15-6 The northernhemisphere is covered byslightly more water thanland (A) The southern hemisphere however is covered mainly by water (B)A B
Major Oceans As Figure 15-7 shows there are three majoroceans the Pacific the Atlantic and the Indian The Pacific Ocean isthe largest Containing roughly half of Earthrsquos seawater it is largerthan all of Earthrsquos landmasses combined The second-largest oceanthe Atlantic extends for more than 20 000 km from Antarctica to thearctic circle North of the arctic circle the Atlantic Ocean is oftenreferred to as the Arctic Ocean The third-largest ocean the Indianis located mainly in the southern hemisphere The storm-lashedregion surrounding Antarctica south of 50deg south latitude is knownas the Antarctic Ocean
Sea Ice The Arctic and Antarctic Oceans are cov-ered by vast expanses of sea ice particularly duringthe winter In summer the ice breaks up somewhat asshown in Figure 15-8 Ice is less dense than water soit floats When sea-ice crystals first form a sort of ice-crystal slush develops at the surface of the water Thethickening ice eventually solidifies into individualround pieces called pancake ice Eventually thesepieces of pancake ice thicken and freeze into a contin-uous ice cover called pack ice In the coldest parts ofthe Arctic and Antarctic Oceans there is no summerthaw and the pack ice is generally several metersthick In the winter the pack-ice cover may be morethan 1000 km wide
390 CHAPTER 15 Physical Oceanography
Indian Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Antarctic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
Arctic Ocean
Figure 15-7 The Pacific Atlantic and Indian Oceans stretch from Antarctica tothe north The smaller Arctic and Antarctic Oceans are located near the northand south poles respectively
Figure 15-8 Ice is presentin this polar sea year round
Seas Seas are smaller than oceans and are partly or mostly land-locked A prominent example the Aral Sea is shown in Figure 15-9Another example the Mediterranean Sea is located between Africaand Europe It was the first sea to be explored and mapped by ancientpeoples such as the Egyptians Phoenicians Greeks and RomansNotable seas in the northern hemisphere include the Gulf of Mexicothe Caribbean Sea and the Bering Sea which is located betweenAlaska and Siberia Keep in mind that all seas and oceans belong toone global ocean whose waters are thoroughly mixed As a resultocean water everywhere contains nearly identical proportions of dis-solved salts as yoursquoll learn in the next section
151 The Oceans 391
1 What is oceanography What was learnedfrom the Challenger expedition
2 What is sonar Which research vessel firstused sonar to map the Mid-AtlanticRidge
3 What evidence indicates that oceansformed early in Earthrsquos geologic history
4 Where did the water in Earthrsquos earlyoceans come from
5 Thinking Critically The Great Lakes con-tain as much water as some seas Whyarenrsquot they considered to be seas
SKILL REVIEW
6 Measuring in SI Calculate the distance tothe ocean floor if a sonar signal takes sixseconds to return to a shiprsquos receiver Formore help refer to the Skill Handbook
Figure 15-9 The Aral Sealocated in Asia is an exam-ple of a land-locked body of water
earthgeucomself_check_quiz
Table 15-1 Major Ions in Seawater
Chemical ppt in Ion Symbol seawater
Chloride Clndash 1935
Sodium Na+ 1076
Sulfate SO42ndash 271
Magnesium Mg2+ 129
Calcium Ca2+ 041
Potassium K+ 039
Bicarbonate HCO3ndash 014
Bromide Brndash 0067
Strontium Sr2+ 0008
Boron B3+ 0004
Fluoride Fndash 0001
Total ~3500
152152
Sodium chloride crystals
Seawater
Have you ever accidentally swallowed a gulp of seawater If so yoursquovenoticed its salty taste Seawater is a solution of about 965 percentwater and 35 percent dissolved salts The most abundant salt in sea-water is sodium chloride (NaCl) Other salts present in seawater arechlorides and sulfates of magnesium potassium and calcium Infact most elements on Earth are present in seawater Because thesesubstances are dissolved they are in the form of ions Table 15-1shows the concentrations of the most important ions in the oceans
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF SEAWATERSalinity is a measure of the amount of dissolved salts in seawaterOceanographers express salinity as grams of salt per kilogram ofwater or parts per thousand (ppt) The total salt content of seawateris on average 35 ppt or 35 percent In addition to salt ions seawa-ter contains dissolved gases and nutrients The dissolved gases aremostly oxygen nitrogen and carbon dioxide and the dissolvednutrients are commonly nitrates phosphates and silicates As youmight guess the nutrients and dissolved gases in seawater greatlyaffect life in the oceans
OBJECTIVES
bull Compare and contrastthe physical and chemicalproperties of seawater
bull Explain ocean layering
bull Describe the formationof deep-water masses
VOCABULARY
salinitytemperature profilethermocline
392 CHAPTER 15 Physical Oceanography
null
6516463
eng - iTunNORM 00000127 00000000 0000161F 00000000 0007B424 00000000 0000654A 00000000 0005F068 00000000
null track 23
68790784
eng - iTunes_CDDB_12407B503+1975+3+151+51135+102716
eng - iTunes_CDDB_TrackNumber2
Variations in Salinity Although the average salinity of theoceans is 35 ppt actual salinities vary from place to place as shownin Figure 15-10 In subtropical regions where rates of evaporationexceed those of precipitation salt ions left behind by the evaporationof water molecules accumulate in the surface layers of the oceanThere salinities may be as high as 37 ppt In equatorial regions whereprecipitation is abundant salinities are lower Even lower salinities of32 or 33 ppt occur in polar regions where seawater is diluted by melt-ing sea ice The lowest salinities often occur where large rivers emptyinto the oceans Even though salinities vary the relative proportionof major sea salts is always constant because all ocean water contin-ually intermingles and is thoroughly mixed Do the MiniLab on thefollowing page to further analyze the salinity of seawater
Sources of Sea Salt Geological evidence indicates that the salin-ity of ancient seas was not much different from that of todayrsquosoceans One line of evidence is based on the proportion of magne-sium in the calcium-carbonate shells of some marine organismsThat proportion depends on the overall salinity of the water in whichthe shells form Present-day shells such as the one shown in Figure 15-11 contain about the same proportion of magnesium as similarshells throughout geologic time
Just as the proportion of sea salts has remained the same overtime so too have the sources of sea salts In addition to water vaporvolcanic gases contain chlorine and sulfur dioxide These gases
152 Seawater 393
35
36536
Antarctic Ocean
All values are given in parts per thousand (ppt)
355355
35
35
35
34
34
35
34
3534
353637
36
36
3233
34
34
3534
3433
36
37
35
35
32
33
33
Equator
Pacific Ocean
ArcticOcean
AtlanticOcean
PacificOcean
IndianOcean
3434
Ocean Salinity
Figure 15-11 By comparingthe proportion of magne-sium in present-day shellssuch as this nautilus withthose of ancient shells sci-entists have determined thatthe salinity of Earthrsquos oceanshas remained nearly thesame over geologic time
Figure 15-10 Ocean salini-ties vary from place toplace High salinities arecommon in areas with highrates of evaporation Lowsalinities often occur whererivers empty into oceans
dissolve in water and form the chlorine andsulfate ions of seawater The weathering ofcrustal rocks generates most of the otherabundant ions in seawater Sodium cal-cium and potassium come from the weath-ering of feldspars Iron and magnesiumcome from the weathering of minerals androcks rich in these elements These ions arethen flushed into rivers and transported tooceans
Removal of Sea Salts Although saltions are continuously added to seawaterthe salinity of seawater does not increaseWhy Because salts are removed from theocean at the same rate as they are addedThe removal of sea salts involves severalprocesses Some precipitate from seawaternear arid coastal regions such as the oneshown in Figure 15-12 This processremoves immense quantities of sodiumchloride calcium sulfate and other seasalts In addition small salty spray dropletsfrom breaking waves are picked up bywinds and deposited inland Marine organ-isms also remove ions from seawater tobuild their shells bones and teeth As theseorganisms die their solid parts accumulateon the seafloor and become incorporatedinto the bottom sediments All these
394 CHAPTER 15 Physical Oceanography
Figure 15-12 Salts thathave precipitated from sea-water form deposits alongthe coast of Baja Mexico
What is the chemical composition of seawater
Determine the chemical composition of seawater using the following ingredientsThe salinity of seawater is commonly mea-sured in parts per thousand (ppt)
Procedure 1 Carefully measure the ingredients and put
them all in a large beaker2 Add 96557 g of distilled water and mix
Analyze and Conclude1 How many grams of solution do you
have What percentage of this solution ismade up of salts
2 Given that 1 percent is equal to 10 pptwhat is the salinity of your solution inparts per thousand
3 Identify the ions in your solution4 Infer how your solution differs from actual
seawater
sodium chloride (NaCl) 2348 gmagnesium chloride (MgCl2) 498 gsodium sulfate (Na2SO4) 392 gcalcium chloride (CaCl2) 110 gpotassium chloride (KCl) 066 gsodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) 019 gpotassium bromide (KBr) 010 g
processes remove immense quantities of salt ions from the oceanThus the existing salinity of seawater represents a balance betweenthe processes that remove salts and those that add them as shownin Figure 15-13
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF SEAWATERThe presence of various salts causes the physical properties of seawa-ter to be quite different from those of freshwater Freshwater has amaximum density of 100 gcm3 Because salt ions are heavier thanwater molecules they increase the density of water Seawater is there-fore denser than freshwater and its density varies depending on itssalinity Temperature also affects densitymdashcold water is denser thanwarm water Because of salinity and temperature variations the den-sity of seawater ranges from about 102 gcm3 to 103 gcm3 Thesevariations may seem small but they are significant They affect manyoceanic processes which yoursquoll learn about in the next chapterVariations in salinity also cause the freezing point of seawater to besomewhat lower than that of freshwater Freshwater freezes at 0degCBecause salt ions interfere with the formation of hydrogen bonds thefreezing point of seawater is ndash2degC
Absorption of Light If yoursquove ever swum in a lake you may havenoticed that the intensity of light decreases with depth The watermay be clear but if the lake is deep the bottom waters will be dark
152 Seawater 395
Volcano
Seaspray
Chemicalreactions
Biologicalprocesses
Formation ofevaporites
Riverdischarge
Bottomsediments
Figure 15-13 Salts areadded to seawater by vol-canic eruptions and by theweathering and erosion ofrocks Salts are removedfrom seawater by the for-mation of evaporites andbiological processes Saltydroplets also are depositedinland by winds
Using Numbers Ifthe density of a sam-ple of seawater is102716 gmL calcu-late the mass of 400 mL of the sample
Water absorbs light which gives rise to another physicalproperty of oceansmdashthey are dark In general light pen-etrates only the upper 100 m of seawater Below thatdepth all is darkness Figure 15-14 illustrates how lightpenetrates ocean water Notice that red light penetratesless than blue light Red objects appear black below thedepth of penetration of red light and other reflectingobjects in the water appear green or blue Although somefading blue light may reach depths of a few hundredmeters light sufficient for photosynthesis exists only inthe top 100 m of the ocean
OCEAN LAYERINGOcean surface temperatures range from ndash2degC in polarwaters to 30degC in equatorial regions with the average sur-face temperature being 15degC Ocean water temperatureshowever decrease significantly with depth Thus deepocean water is always cold even in tropical oceans Figure15-15 shows a typical ocean temperature profile whichplots changing water temperatures with depth Such pro-
files vary depending on location and season In the temperature pro-file shown here beneath roughly 100 m temperatures decreasecontinuously with depth to around 4degC at 1 km The dark watersbelow 1 km have fairly uniform temperatures of less than 4degC Basedon temperature variations the ocean can be divided into three lay-ers as shown in Figure 15-16 The first is a relatively warm sunlitsurface layer some 100 m thick Under this is a transitional layerknown as the thermocline which is characterized by rapidlydecreasing temperatures with depth The bottom layer is cold anddark with temperatures near freezing Both the thermocline and thewarm surface layer are absent in polar seas where water tempera-tures are cold from top to bottom In general ocean layering iscaused by density differences Because cold water is more dense thanwarm water cold water sinks to the bottom while less-dense warmwater is found near the oceanrsquos surface
396 CHAPTER 15 Physical Oceanography
Surfaceof ocean
Visible light
Photosynthesisoccurs inthis zone
50 m
100 m
150 m
Figure 15-14 Red light doesnot penetrate as far as bluelight in the ocean (A) Thusred marine organisms suchas this deep-sea shrimp (B)appear black below a depthof 10 m This helps themescape predators
A B
WATER MASSESThe temperature of the bottom layer ofocean water is near freezing even in tropi-cal oceans where surface temperatures arewarm Where does all this cold water comefrom The source is Earthrsquos polar seasRecall that high salinity and cold tempera-tures cause seawater to become moredense When seawater freezes during thearctic or antarctic winter sea ice formsHowever salt ions arenrsquot incorporated intothe growing ice crystals and accumulatebeneath the ice Consequently the coldwater beneath the ice becomes saltier anddenser than the surrounding seawater andthis saltier water sinks This salty waterthen migrates toward the equator as acold deep water mass along the oceanfloor Other cold deep water masses formwhen surface currents in the ocean bringrelatively salty midlatitude or subtropical waters into polar regions Inwinter these waters become colder and denser than the surroundingpolar surface waters and thus they sink
Three water masses account for most of the deep water in theAtlantic Ocean Antarctic Bottom Water forms when antarctic seasfreeze during the winter With temperatures below 0degC this water
152 Seawater 397
Highlatitudes
Lowlatitudes
1000
Dep
th (
m)
Temperature (degC)
2000
3000
4000
Thermocline
Surface layer
Bottom layer
0
0 4 8 12 16 20 24
Variations in Ocean Water Temperatures
Figure 15-15 Ocean watertemperatures decrease withdepth Areas near the equa-tor have warmer ocean sur-face temperatures than domidlatitudes or areas nearthe poles
Dep
th (
m)
Bottom layer
Surface layer
Latitude
Thermocline
0
1000
2000
3000
400060degN 40deg 20deg 0deg 20deg 40deg 60degS
Ocean Layers
Figure 15-16 Based onwater temperatures theocean can be divided intothree layers the relativelywarm surface layer thetransitional thermoclineand the cold bottom layer
mass is the coldest and densest in all the oceans as shown in Figure15-17 North Atlantic Deep Water forms in a similar manner offshorefrom Greenland It is warmer and less dense than Antarctic BottomWater and thus overrides it Antarctic Intermediate Water forms whenthe relatively salty waters of the Antarctic Ocean decrease in temper-ature during winter and sink Being slightly warmer and less densethan North Atlantic Deep Water Antarctic Intermediate Water over-rides the other two water masses While the Atlantic Ocean containsall three major deep-water masses the Indian and Pacific Oceans con-tain only the two deep antarctic water masses Yoursquoll model watermasses in the GeoLab at the end of this chapter In the next sectionyoursquoll learn about other water movements in the ocean
398 CHAPTER 15 Physical Oceanography
1 What is the most abundant salt in sea-water How do salts enter the ocean
2 How does the salinity of seawater affectits density
3 The salinity of seawater is higher in sub-tropical regions than at the equatorWhy
4 Explain why North Atlantic Deep Waterand Antarctic Intermediate Water over-ride Antarctic Bottom Water
5 Which is more dense cold freshwater orwarm seawater Explain
6 Thinking Critically Why do red fish lookblack at ocean water depths greater thanabout 10 m
SKILL REVIEW
7 Recognizing Cause and Effect Based onwhat you have learned about the freez-ing point of seawater explain why salt isoften used to de-ice roads in the winterFor more help refer to the SkillHandbook
60deg 40deg 20deg
North AtlanticDeep Water
AntarcticIntermediate Water
AntarcticBottom Water
0deg
lt0degC
gt0degC
0degC3degC
5degC
15degC
25degC
2degC
2degC
2degC
20deg 40deg 60deg 80degN S
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
Dep
th (
m)
Latitude
Vertical Temperature Distribution (degC)
Figure 15-17 AntarcticBottom Water is the densestand coldest deep watermass It is overridden by theslightly warmer and lessdense North Atlantic DeepWater Antarctic Interme-diate Water is still warmerand less dense and thus it overrides the other twodeep water masses
earthgeucomself_check_quiz
153 Ocean Movements 399
OBJECTIVES
bull Describe the physicalproperties of waves
bull Explain how tides form
bull Compare and contrastvarious ocean currents
VOCABULARY
wave tidecrest density currenttrough surface currentbreaker upwelling
153153 Ocean Movements
Oceans are never completely motionless Their most obvious move-ment is the constant motion of the waves A wave is a rhythmicmovement that carries energy through space or mattermdashin this caseocean water Ocean waves are generated mainly by wind flowing overthe waterrsquos surface As an ocean wave passes the water moves up anddown in a circular pattern and returns to its original position asshown in Figure 15-18A Only the energy moves steadily forwardThe water itself moves in circles until the energy passes but it doesnot move forward
WAVE CHARACTERISTICSIn the open ocean a typical wave has the characteristics shown inFigure 15-18B The highest point of a wave is the crest and the low-est point is the trough The vertical distance between crest andtrough is the wave height the horizontal crest-to-crest distance is thewavelength The wavelength determines the depth to which the wavedisturbs the water That depth called the wave base is equal to halfthe wavelength The wavelength also determines the speed withwhich waves move through deep waterWave speed increases with wavelength
Negligible water movement below one-half wavelength
Wave height
Crest
TroughWavelength
Figure 15-18 In a wave water moves incircles that decrease in size with depth At a depth equal to half the wavelengthwater movement stops (A) Wave charac-teristics include wave height wavelengthcrest and trough (B)
B
Wavelength
Water movement stops One-half wavelength
Direction of wave
A
null
5551928
eng - iTunNORM 0000014C 00000000 00001848 00000000 00046E2F 00000000 00006A5E 00000000 00075B92 00000000
null track 33
6056663
eng - iTunes_CDDB_12407B503+1975+3+151+51135+102716
eng - iTunes_CDDB_TrackNumber3
Wave Height Wave heights depend upon three factors wind speedwind duration and fetch Fetch refers to the expanse of water that thewind blows across Large storm waves can be much higher than aver-age For instance hurricanes can generate waves more than 10 m highThe greatest wave height ever recorded was more than 30 m Thismonstrous wave occurred in the North Pacific
Breaking Waves As ocean waves reach the shallow water nearshorelines they begin to lose energy because of friction with theocean bottom This causes the waves to slow down As the waterbecomes shallower incoming wave crests gradually catch up with theslower wave crests ahead As a result the crest-to-crest wavelengthdecreases The incoming waves become higher steeper and unstableand their crests collapse forward Collapsing waves such as thoseshown in Figure 15-19 are called breakers The formation of break-ers is also influenced by the motion of wave crests which are lessaffected by friction than wave troughs and thus overrun the troughsThe collapsing crests of breakers moving at high speeds toward shoreplay a major role in shaping shorelines Yoursquoll learn more aboutbreakers and shoreline processes in the next chapter
TIDESTides are the periodic rise and fall of sea level The highest level towhich water rises is known as high tide and the lowest level is calledlow tide Because of differences in topography and latitude the tidalrangemdashthe difference between high tide and low tidemdashvaries fromplace to place In the Gulf of Mexico the tidal range is less than 1 mIn New England it can be as high as 6 m The greatest tidal range
400 CHAPTER 15 Physical Oceanography
Constantwavelength
Wave height increases
Wavebreaks
Waves dragagainstbottom andwavelengthsdecrease
Figure 15-19 A breaker (A) forms when wavelengthdecreases and wave height increases as the wavenears the shore (B)
A B
Topic High TidesTo learn more about tidesvisit the Earth Science Web Site at earthgeucom
Activity Research the best places on Earth toobserve high tides Notethese places on a map ofthe world
153 Ocean Movements 401
occurs in the Bay of Fundy between New Brunswick and NovaScotia Canada where it is as high as 15 m Generally a daily cycle ofhigh and low tides takes 24 hours and 50 minutes As shown inFigure 15-20 the daily cycle can follow three distinct patterns Yoursquolllearn about tides in the Problem-Solving Lab on this page
High tide
A Semidiurnal
B Mixed
C Diurnal
Hours
Hei
gh
t (m
)
00
1
2
4 8 12 16 20 204 8 12 16
3
High tide
Hours
Hei
gh
t (m
)
00
1
2
4 8 12 16 20 204 8 12 16
3
High tide
Hours
Hei
gh
t (m
)
00
1
2
4 8 12 16 20 204 8 12 16
3
Figure 15-20 Differencesin topography and latitudecause three different dailytide cycles Areas with semi-diurnal cycles experiencetwo high tides per dayAreas with mixed cycleshave one pronounced andone smaller high tide eachday Areas with diurnalcycles have one high tideper day
Analyze a tidal record The water levels shown in the data table were measured over a 24-hour period
Analysis1 Plot these values on graph paper with
time on the x-axis and water level onthe y-axis
2 Estimate the approximate times andwater levels of high tides and lowtides
Thinking Critically3 Refer to Figure 15-20 to determine the
tidal pattern shown in your graph4 What is the tidal range for this area
5 Predict the water level at the nexthigh tide Estimate when that hightide will occur
Making and Using GraphsWater Water
Time (h) Level (m) Time (h) Level (m)
0000 308 1300 2780100 335 1400 2810200 333 1500 2590300 303 1600 2160400 253 1700 1640500 195 1800 1150600 144 1900 0840700 110 2000 0780800 102 2100 1000900 121 2200 1461000 159 2300 2071100 207 2400 2671200 251
Tidal Record
CAUSES OF TIDESThe basic causes of tides are the gravitational attraction amongEarth the Moon and the Sun as well as the fact that gravitationalattraction decreases with distance Consider the Earth-Moon systemAs shown in Figure 15-21 the Moon does not actually orbit EarthRather both Earth and the Moon orbit around a common center ofgravity As a result of their motions both Earth and the Moon expe-rience differing gravitational forces The unbalanced forces generatetidal bulges on opposite sides of Earth The gravitational effect onEarthrsquos oceans is similar to what happens to the liquid in a coffee cupinside a car as the car goes around a curve The liquid sloshes towardthe outside of the curve
The Sunrsquos Influence The gravitational attraction of the Sun andEarthrsquos orbital motion around the Sun also generate tides Howevereven though the Moon is much smaller than the Sun lunar tides aremore than twice as high as those caused by the Sun because theMoon is much closer to Earth Consequently Earthrsquos tidal bulges arealways aligned with the Moon Although the Sunrsquos tidal effect issmaller than that of the Moon it is still significant because of theSunrsquos great mass Depending on the phases of the Moon solar tidescan either enhance or diminish lunar tides as illustrated in Figure15-22 Notice that large tidal ranges called spring tides occur whenthe Moon is either full or new These phases of the Moon occur whenthe Sun the Moon and Earth are aligned During spring tides hightides are higher than normal and low tides are lower than normalSmall tidal ranges called neap tides occur when there is a first- orthird-quarter Moon During these times the Sun the Moon and
High tideHigh tide
Path of Moon
Low tide
Moon
Path of Earth
Center of mass of Earth-Moon system
Figure 15-21 The Moonand Earth revolve around acommon center of gravityand experience unbalancedgravitational and centrifu-gal forces These forcescause tidal bulges on oppo-site sides of Earth
402 CHAPTER 15 Physical Oceanography
153 Ocean Movements 403
EarthEarth
EarthEarth
SunSun
Sun
Full MoonFull Moon
Spring tideSpring tide
Neap tideNeap tide
First-quarter MoonFirst-quarter Moon
Third-quarter MoonThird-quarter Moon
New MoonNew Moon
Lunar tideLunar tide
Solar tideSolar tide
Lunar tideLunar tide
Solar tideSolar tide
Figure 15-22 Spring tidesoccur when the Sun theMoon and Earth arealigned (A) Neap tidesoccur when the Sun theMoon and Earth form a right angle (B)
Earth form a right angle During neap tides high tides are lower andlow tides are higher than normal Spring and neap tides alternateevery two weeks On average spring tides are three times higher thanneap tides
OCEAN CURRENTSRecall the discussion of Antarctic Bottom Water in the previous sec-tion The movement of Antarctic Bottom Water is an example of anocean current In this case the current is called a density currentbecause it is caused by differences in the temperature and salinity ofocean water which in turn affect density Density currents moveslowly in deep ocean waters
More noticeable than underwater density currents are wind-driven surface currents Surface currents affect mainly the upperfew hundred meters of the ocean and they can move as fast as 100km per day Driven by Earthrsquos global wind systems surface currentsfollow predictable patterns In the northern hemisphere tropicaltrade winds blow from east to west The resulting tropical ocean cur-rents also flow from east to west In northern midlatitudes the pre-vailing westerlies and resulting ocean currents move from west toeast In northern polar regions polar easterly winds push surfacewaters from east to west
Gyres If Earth had no landmasses the global ocean would havesimple belts of easterly and westerly surface currents But the conti-nents deflect ocean currents to the north and south so that closedcircular current systems called gyres develop As shown in Figure15-23 there are five major gyres the North Pacific the NorthAtlantic the South Pacific the South Atlantic and the Indian OceanBecause of the Coriolis effect which you learned about in Chapter12 the gyres of the northern hemisphere circulate in a clockwisedirection and those of the southern hemisphere circulate in a coun-terclockwise direction The parts of all gyres closest to the equatormove towards the west as equatorial currents When these currentsencounter a landmass they are deflected toward the poles Thesepoleward-flowing waters carry warm tropical water into highercolder latitudes A well-known example of a warm current is theKuroshio or Japan Current in the western North Pacific
After these warm waters enter polar regions they gradually cooland deflected by landmasses move back toward the equator Theresulting currents then bring cold water from higher latitudes intotropical regions An example of such cold ocean currents is theCalifornia Current in the eastern North Pacific Yoursquoll learn more aboutcurrents in the Science in the News feature at the end of this chapter
404 CHAPTER 15 Physical Oceanography
Arctic Circle
Tropicof Cancer
Tropic ofCapricorn
0deg EquatorEquatorial Countercurrent
S Equatorial Current
S EquatorialCurrent
S EquatorialCurrent
N Equatorial Current
South Pacific Gyre
South Atlantic Gyre
Indian OceanGyre
N Equatorial Current
N Equatorial CurrentNorth Pacific Gyre
EquatorialCountercurrent
North Atlantic Gyre
Braz
il Cu
rren
t
Antarctic Circle Antarctic Circumpolar Current
Antarctic Circumpolar Current
0deg 30deg E 60deg E 90deg E 120deg E30deg W60deg W90deg W120deg W150deg W150deg E120deg E 180deg
Labrador Current
E
Greenland
Cu
rrent
BenguelaC
urrent
Equatorial Countercurrent
Agul
has C
urre
nt
Alaska Current
Gulf StreamNorth
Atlantic
Curre
nt
Cana
ryC
urre
nt
Kuroshio
Peru Current
EA
ustr
alia
n
Current
Current
Oya
shio
Curre
nt
N PacificCurrent Current
California
Major Ocean Currents
Figure 15-23 The Corioliseffect deflects water andother free-moving objectsto the right north of theequator and to the leftsouth of the equator Thusgyres in the northern hemi-sphere circulate in a clock-wise direction The motionis reversed in the southernhemisphere
UPWELLINGIn addition to moving horizontally ocean water moves verticallyThe upward motion of ocean water is called upwelling Upwellingwaters originate from the bottom of the ocean and thus are coldAreas of upwelling exist mainly off the western coasts of continentsin the trade-wind belts As Figure 15-24 shows the trade winds blowsurface water offshore and the surface water is replaced by upwellingdeep water Upwelling waters are rich in nutrients which supportabundant populations of marine life Consequently some of theworldrsquos richest fishing grounds are found off the coasts of Peru andCalifornia
Figure 15-24 Upwellingoccurs when the tradewinds blow surface wateroffshore and deep colderwater rises to the surface
153 Ocean Movements 405
Upwelling
Offshore wind
Ocean surface
1 Describe how water moves as a wavepasses
2 What three factors determine the heightof a wave
3 What causes tides Compare and contrasta spring tide and a neap tide
4 Why are upwelling waters always cold
5 Thinking Critically Upwelling currents arerich in nutrients Predict the effects onmarine ecosystems if these currentsstopped
SKILL REVIEW
6 Concept Mapping Use the followingphrases to complete a concept map ofwave characteristics For more help referto the Skill Handbook
lowestpoint of wave
wavelength wave height trough
crestwave
characteristics
horizontalcrest-to-crest
distance
vertical distancebetween crest and
trough
highest pointof wave
406 CHAPTER 15 Physical Oceanography
Modeling WaterMasses
The water in the oceans is layered because water masseswith higher densities sink below those with lower densi-
ties The density of seawater depends on its temperature andsalinity In this activity yoursquoll model different types of watermasses to observe the effects of density firsthand
ProblemDetermine how changes in salinity andtemperature affect water density
Materialsscalegraduated 500-mL cylinder100-mL glass beakers (4)waterred yellow and blue food coloringsaltthermometereyedroppergraph paperpencilrulercalculator
ObjectivesIn this GeoLab you willbull Compare and contrast the movement
of different water samplesbull Determine the relative densities of the
water samples
bull Predict the arrangement of layers in abody of water
bull Construct and interpret a temperatureprofile
Safety Precautions Always wear safety goggles and anapron in the lab Wash your hands aftercompleting the lab
Preparation
1000
2000
1500
500
Temperature Profile
Dep
th (
m)
Temperature (degC)
0
0degC 10degC 20degC
GeoLab 407
1 Mix 200 mL of water and 75 g of saltin the graduated cylinder Pour equalamounts of the salt solution into twobeakers Fill each of the two otherbeakers with 100 mL of freshwater
2 Put a few drops of red food coloringin one of the salt solutions Put a fewdrops of yellow food coloring in theother salt solution Put a few drops ofblue food coloring in one of thebeakers of freshwater Do not addfood coloring to the other beaker offreshwater
3 Place the beakers with the red saltsolution and the blue freshwater inthe refrigerator Refrigerate them for30 minutes
4 Measure and record the temperatureof the water in all four beakers
5 Put several drops of the cold red salt-water into the beaker with the warmyellow saltwater and observe whathappens Record your observations
6 Put several drops of the cold bluefreshwater into the beaker with the warm clear freshwater andobserve what happens Record yourobservations
7 Put several drops of the cold bluefreshwater into the beaker with the warm yellow saltwater andobserve what happens Record yourobservations
1 In your science journal describe themovement of the cold red saltwaterin step 5 Compare this to the move-ment of the cold blue freshwater instep 7 What accounts for the differ-ences you observed
2 Based on your observations list thewater samples by color in order ofincreasing density
3 If you poured the four water samplesinto the graduated cylinder howwould they arrange themselves intolayers by color from top to bottom
1 Assume that four water masses in alarge body of water have the samecharacteristics as the water in thefour beakers The warm water layersare 100 m thick and the cold layersare 1000 m thick Graph the tempera-ture profile of the large body ofwater
2 What is the salinity in parts per thou-sand of the combined saline solu-tions (Hint ppt equals grams of salt per kilogram of solution Assume
that 200 mL of water has a mass of200 g Be sure to include the mass of the salt in the total mass of thesolution)
3 The temperature profile on the oppo-site page was constructed from mea-surements taken in the AtlanticOcean off the coast of Spain Studythe profile then infer why a high-temperature layer exists beneath thethermocline Is this layer denser thanthe colder water above Explain
Procedure
Analyze
Conclude amp Apply
Plot a course for a journey by boat from thecoast nearest you to Antarctica Use themap of ocean currents in Figure 15-23 toidentify the currents you would use andthose you would avoid
Activity
toward land However the ice carried them intothe open waters of the South Atlantic Desper-ate they launched their boats into the oceanThey stayed awake for days battling rough wavesand towering icebergs that threatened to crushthe small boats to pieces In April 1916 theyfinally reached a small barren island The largestof the boats continued on a perilous journey toSouth Georgia Island for help The boat wascrewed by Shackleton and five others Thesemen faced an almost impossible task to travelin a tiny boat more than a thousand kilometersacross the roughest expanse of sea in the world
Despite the odds Shackleton and his crewdid reach South Georgia Island By this time win-ter was approaching and it was several monthsbefore they could rescue the shipwrecked mem-bers of the Endurancersquos crew All 28 men sur-vived the adventure They failed in their missionto cross Antarctica but their survival remains atale of great glory
408 CHAPTER 15 Physical Oceanography
Alexanderrsquos book tells the story of theEndurance and the 28 men who sailed in the shipto Antarctica in 1914 The explorers on boardplanned the first overland crossing of theAntarctic continent The ship left South GeorgiaIsland in the South Atlantic in December 1914During the next two years the expedition sufferedboth horrible misfortune and incredible luck
Frozen SolidIn mid-December the Endurance neared the
coast of Antarctica The pack ice that year wasespecially dense and by January 1915 the shiphad frozen solidly into the ice just 126 km from itsdestinationmdash126 km of solid ice The ship and itscrew could only drift aimlessly with the ice
In this part of the sea a clockwise currentchurns the ice pack in endless circles The icecrunches against the Antarctic Peninsula gener-ating massive waves of pressure TheEndurance still frozen in the ice was carried bythe current farther and farther from land InNovember 1915 the pressure of the ice packcrushed the ship to pieces The crew escapedbut was forced to camp on the drifting ice in sub-zero temperatures with thin tents as their onlyshelter They managed to salvage some suppliesand three small boats
As the Current TurnsThe crew hoped that the ice would carry them
Caught in the CurrentldquoThe gale was still blowing from the northeast on January 21 drift-ing snow from the continental ice shelfhellipHeld fast in the ice theEndurance was being carried with the rest of the pack by the WeddellSearsquos current soon she would be moving away from landrdquomdashfrom TheEndurance Shackletonrsquos Legendary Antarctic Expedition by CarolineAlexander (Knopf 1999)
SummaryVocabularyoceanography
(p 385)sea level (p 388)side-scan sonar
(p 386)
Vocabularysalinity (p 392)temperature profile
(p 396)thermocline (p 396)
Vocabularybreaker (p 400)crest (p 399)density current
(p 403)surface current
(p 403)tide (p 400)trough (p 399)upwelling (p 405)wave (p 399)
Main Ideasbull Oceanography is the scientific study of Earthrsquos oceans
Oceanographers use sonar satellites and submersibles amongother tools to explore the ocean
bull Earthrsquos first oceans likely formed more than 4 billion years agoSome water may have come from impacting comets or fromdeep within Earthrsquos interior Scientists theorize that water fromwithin Earthrsquos interior was released by volcanism
bull Approximately 71 percent of Earthrsquos surface is covered byoceans The major oceans are the Pacific Atlantic Indian Arcticand Antarctic
Main Ideasbull Seawater contains 965 percent water and 35 percent dissolved
salts The average salinity of seawater is 35 ppt The salinity ofthe ocean remains constant because salts are removed from theocean at the same rate as they are added
bull Ocean surface temperatures range from ndash2degC in polar waters to30degC in equatorial waters Seawater density changes withchanges in salinity and temperature
bull Ocean water temperatures decrease with depth The ocean canbe divided into three layers the surface layer the transitionalthermocline and the bottom layer
Main Ideasbull Ocean waves are generated by wind Water in a wave moves in
a circular motion but does not move forward When waves reachshallow water friction with the ocean bottom slows them andthey become breakers
bull Tides are caused by the gravitational attraction among Earththe Moon and the Sun Lunar tides are twice as high as solartides
bull Density currents are deep currents generated by salinity andtemperature differences Wind-driven surface currents affect theupper few hundred meters of the ocean Upwelling occurs whenwinds push surface water aside and the surface water isreplaced by cold deep water
SECTION 151
The Oceans
SECTION 152
Seawater
SECTION 153
OceanMovements
Study Guide 409earthgeucomvocabulary_puzzlemaker
410 CHAPTER 15 Physical Oceanography
1 Which of the following is used to measure oceandeptha bottom dredges c sonarb nets d tidal patterns
2 Which of the following are the most commongases emitted by volcanoesa hydrogen and heliumb oxygen and nitrogenc water vapor and carbon dioxided chlorine and hydrogen
3 What is the average depth of the oceansa 380 m c 3800 mb 38 m d 3 km
4 What is the average salinity of seawatera 100 ppt c 35 pptb 50 ppt d 35 ppt
5 What is the average temperature of deep waterbelow the thermoclinea 15degC c less than 4degCb more than 4degC d 0degC
6 What basic motion does water follow during thepassage of a wavea forward c up and downb backward d circular
7 Which of the following does not affect waveheight in deep watera wavelength c wind speedb wind duration d fetch
8 Which type of seawater has the greatest densitya warm with low salinityb warm with high salinityc cold with low salinityd cold with high salinity
Understanding Main Ideas 9 To what average depth does light penetrate inthe oceana 1 m c 100 mb 10 m d 1000 m
10 What type of high tides occur during a fullMoona spring tides c tidal rangesb neap tides d tidal cycles
11 What is the the densest water mass in theAtlantic Oceana North Atlantic Deep Waterb surface waterc Antarctic Bottom Waterd Antarctic Intermediate Water
12 The Arctic Ocean is the northern part of whichbody of watera Atlantic Ocean c Bering Seab Pacific Ocean d Indian Ocean
13 Explain why the Moon exerts a greater tidal influence than the Sun
14 What distinguishes a sea from an ocean
15 Where in the oceans are the highest values of salinity found Explain
16 What would be the wave base for a wave that is200 m long
17 Which gyre would have clockwise circulation theNorth Pacific the South Pacific the SouthAtlantic or the Indian Ocean Explain
MAXIMIZE YOUR SCORE If possible findout how your standardized test will be scored Inorder to do your best you need to know if thereis a penalty for guessing and if so how much ofone If there is no random-guessing penalty youshould always fill in an answer
Test-Taking Tip
earthgeucomchapter_test
Assessment 411
18 Why does a wave break
19 Copy the illustration on this page Then use thefollowing terms to label the characteristics of anocean wave crest trough wave height andwavelength
20 Cold water masses are generally denser thanwarm water masses yet warm water from theMediterranean Sea sinks to a depth of more than1000 m when it flows into the Atlantic OceanWhy
21 One of the effects of El Nintildeo which you learnedabout in the previous chapter is that the tradewinds reverse direction Predict how this mightaffect upwelling off the coast of Peru
22 Based on what you have learned about waterdensity describe the movement of freshwaterfrom a river as it flows into the sea
23 Surface currents can affect coastal climatesWould the Gulf Stream and the Peru Currentboth of which are surface currents have the sameeffect on coastal climate Explain
24 Use your knowledge of global warming tohypothesize why sea level is rising
Thinking Critically
Applying Main Ideas Standardized Test Practice
1 Which sea was the first to be mappeda the Bering Seab the Caribbean Seac the Gulf of Mexicod the Mediterranean Sea
2 Which regionrsquos seawater is most likely tohave the highest concentration of dissolvedsaltsa an equatorial regionb a subtropical regionc a polar regiond a delta where rivers empty into oceans
INTERPRETING SCIENTIFIC ILLUSTRATIONS
Use the illustration below to answer questions 3 and 4
3 Which wave is most likely caused by a stronghurricanea A c Cb B d D
4 Why is Wave D most likely collapsinga friction from the ocean floorb storm activityc increased crest-to-crest wavelengthd opposing tidal movement
5 Which ocean movement is slow-moving andoccurs in deep watersa surface currents c density currentsb upwelling d gyres
A
B
CD
1 m
5 m
10 m
15 m
20 m
earthgeucomstandardized_test