![]() ![]() In the open ocean, the thermocline is characterized by a negative sound speed gradient, making the thermocline important in submarine warfare because it can reflect active sonar and other acoustic signals. The first accurate global measurements were made during the oceanographic expedition of HMS Challenger. A layer of sea ice will act as an insulation blanket. It is semi-permanent in the tropics, variable in temperate regions and shallow to nonexistent in the polar regions, where the water column is cold from the surface to the bottom. As saline water does not freeze until it reaches −2.3 ☌ (27.9 ☏) (colder as depth and pressure increase) the temperature well below the surface is usually not far from zero degrees. The temperature of the deep ocean drops gradually with depth. Below this mixed layer, the temperature remains relatively stable over day/night cycles. Waves mix the water near the surface layer and distribute heat to deeper water such that the temperature may be relatively uniform in the upper 100 metres (330 ft), depending on wave strength and the existence of surface turbulence caused by currents. Most of the heat energy of the sunlight that strikes the Earth is absorbed in the first few centimeters at the ocean's surface, which heats during the day and cools at night as heat energy is lost to space by radiation. Oceans Graph of different thermoclines (depth versus temperature) based on seasons and latitude Two moon jellyfish disturbing a thermocline in the top water layer of Gullmarn fjord, Swedenįor the use of ocean thermoclines to generate energy, see Ocean thermal energy conversion. Factors that affect the depth and thickness of a thermocline include seasonal weather variations, latitude, and local environmental conditions, such as tides and currents. ĭepending largely on season, latitude, and turbulent mixing by wind, thermoclines may be a semi-permanent feature of the body of water in which they occur, or they may form temporarily in response to phenomena such as the radiative heating/cooling of surface water during the day/night. In the ocean, the thermocline divides the upper mixed layer from the calm deep water below. an atmosphere) with a high gradient of distinct temperature differences associated with depth. water, as in an ocean or lake or air, e.g. The temperature is nearly constant after 1500 meters depth.Ī thermocline (also known as the thermal layer or the metalimnion in lakes) isĪ distinct layer based on temperature within a large body of fluid (e.g. Thermal layer in a body of water Graph showing a tropical ocean thermocline (depth vs. ![]()
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