The biosphere includes all the living components of the earth. It consists of all plants and animals, including all the micro-organisms that live on the planet earth and their interactions with the surrounding environment. The biosphere can be subdivided into a number of biogeochemical zones based on factors such as soil composition, atmospheric content, temperature, […]
Ocean currents are like river flow in oceans. They represent a regular volume of water in a definite path and direction. The ocean current sets that connect the poles with the equator, even though it is almost imperceptible, are responsible for the dissemination of species in the world’s oceans. Ocean currents are influenced by two
Tides are a phenomenon that can be seen clearly from the shores of Earth’s many coasts. The tidal movement is the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the constant rotation of our planet. Tides have been used by mankind for thousands of years, from building early coastal settlements to the creation of some
The waves themselves are never stopped by the seashore, just slowed down. That slowing down is the action of friction on the surface of the water and that creates all kinds of strange effects in a phenomenon known as surface tension. Water particles only travel in a small circle as a wave passes. Wind provides
The ocean is a huge reservoir of water that is in constant motion. It has two primary motions, horizontal and vertical. The primary horizontal motion in the ocean occurs in a counter-clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere and a clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. The secondary motion in vertical in nature and is called tides.
The distribution of salinity depends upon the amount of evaporation as well as the position of the water bodies. Solar energy has a major role to play in evaporation. Water bodies located near the equator have a much greater salinity compared to those located near the poles. Additionally, there is much difference in salinity with
Salinity is the state of the water in terms of salts. The higher the salinity, the more salt content there is in water. It may be defined differently based on various parameters like temperature, specific gravity, pressure, etc. Saline drainage is saline water that drains into an area or region. The term “saline groundwater” refers
Tropical seas have a higher salinity when compared with polar seas. This is because evaporation causes the salt content to increase with the dissolved salts being redeposited in sea spray when winds blow from land towards the sea. Cooler oceans have a lower salinity due to the increasing amount of ice melting in them which
The temperature-depth profile for the ocean water shows how the temperature decreases with the increasing depth. Vertical distribution of temperature is determined by calculating the difference between surface water temperature and water temperature at specified depths. Horizontal distribution of temperature is determined by calculating monthly or seasonal means for specified depths. The profile shows a
Horizontal and Vertical Distribution of Temperature Read More »
The temperature of the ocean surface affects the salinity, or salt level, of ocean water. Near the equator, warm water evaporates into the atmosphere more quickly than it can be replaced by waters from below. Since evaporation only occurs when the water is warmer than the air, this results in high salinity in tropical regions.
