1. Give an example of how atmosphere and ocean systems affect each other.

The El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) that occurs periodically in the southern Pacific
Ocean is an example of how ocean circulation and atmospheric circulation interact.
Changing moisture budgets, altered winds and decreased coastal upwelling become
part of a chain of energy redistribution that affects global climate patterns.

2. What is the difference between sensible and latent heat?

Sensible heat is radiant energy that directly flows between objects or areas due to a
temperature difference between them. Latent heat is released or absorbed when water
changes state during the processes of evaporation, evapo-transpiration, melting,
freezing, condensation, and sublimation.

3. What are short wave and long wave radiation differences?

Visible light, near infrared and near ultraviolet radiation are commonly called shortwave
radiation, while infrared radiation is referred to as long wave radiation. The Sun radiates
energy mainly in the form of visible light, with small amounts of ultraviolet and infrared
radiation. For this reason, solar radiation is considered as shortwave radiation. The
Earth or ocean produces virtually no visible light, or ultraviolet radiation. Almost all of the
natural radiation emitted by the Earth/ocean is infrared thermal radiation. Thus, we refer
to the terrestrial radiation as long wave radiation. It always cools the earth/ocean.
4. Write Ocean heat budget equation and explain different terms.
Ocean heat budget equation is given by the following relation:

Where,
– Mixed layer temperature
– Rate of change of
– Sea water density
– Heat capacity of sea water
– Mixed layer depth (MLD)
– Surface heat flux
– Short wave radiation penetrating below the mixed layer
– entrainment rate
– temperature at the bottom of mixed layer
– coefficient of vertical diffusion of heat
– Residual term

In R. H. S. of the above equation, The first term represents the heat flux, the

second term represents entrainment, the third term represents

horizontal advection and the fourth term represents diffusion of heat.

5. What is ocean color and which color penetrates the deepest in open Ocean?
Ocean Color is the water hue due to the presence of tiny plants containing the pigment
chlorophyll, sediments, and colored dissolved organic material. The ocean color is blue.
The ocean looks blue because water displays the selective absorption of light with long
wavelengths red, orange and yellow (long wavelength light) absorbed first and more
strongly than is blue (short wavelength light) which is absorbed last. So, when white light
from the sun enters the ocean, it is mostly the blue that gets returned.
 In the open ocean, blue light penetrates the deepest.

6. What is Extinction or attenuation coefficient of light intensity?

In physics, attenuation (in some contexts also called extinction) is the gradual loss in
intensity of any kind of flux through a medium. A small attenuation coefficient indicates
that the material is relatively transparent, while a larger value indicates greater degrees
of dullness. Light intensity decreases with depth because of absorption and scatter. The
attenuation of light is described by , Where

k – Extinction coefficient of water

- Light intensity at surface and
- Light intensity at depth Z

7. What is Air-sea interaction?

Air-sea interaction is the redistribution of the solar energy through the exchange of
properties between the ocean and the atmosphere and associated processes of the
energy transformation in the ocean and the atmosphere.
The Atmosphere and the Ocean form a coupled system, exchanging heat, momentum
and water at the air-sea interface. As a result, on the long term, the
convergence/divergence of oceanic heat transport provide source/sinks of heat for the
atmosphere and partly shape the mean climate of the Earth.

8. What are major consequences of sea-air interaction processes?

Following are the major consequences of sea-air interaction processes:
1) Advection of heat by ocean currents and atmospheric flows
2) Instabilities in the ocean and atmosphere
3) Generation of temperature anomalies in the ocean
4) Generation of circulation anomalies in the atmosphere

9. Name the major sea-air interaction processes?

 Following are the major sea-air interaction processes giving rise to major climatic
patterns like, Teleconnections, MJO (Madden Julian Oscillation), ENSO (El Niño-
Southern Oscillation ) and IOD (Indian Ocean Dipole):
1) Solar radiation (SW): absorption, reflection and scattering
2) Infrared radiation: emission, reflection and absorption
3) Turbulent heat transfer
4) Evaporation
5) Precipitation
6) Buoyancy flux at sea surface
7) Turbulent transfer of kinetic energy
8) Ocean surface wave generation and decay
9) Mixing in the atmosphere and generation of atmospheric vorticity in ABL
10) Mixing (mechanical and convective) in the ocean and
11) Generation of water masses
12) Gas transfer

10. What is wind stress and write equation for wind stress?
The horizontal force of wind on the sea surface is called the wind stress, i.e. force of the
wind, or the work done by the wind. It is the vertical transfer of horizontal momentum.
Thus, momentum is transferred from the atmosphere to the ocean by wind stress.
Wind stress Ƭ is calculated from the following relation:
Ƭ = ρa Cd W2

Where, ρa = 1.3 kg/m3 is the density of air, W is wind speed at 10 meters, and Cd is the
drag coefficient Cd =~ 1.4 x 10-3.

11. What is flow and Ekman spiral?

Wind blowing over water is always associated with turbulent mixing. Currents in the
upper 150 m or so of the ocean are directly affected by the wind, i.e transfer of
momentum from the atmosphere to the ocean. The condition of uniform density is
 usually satisfied in the wind affected surface layer, and the balance between friction and
the Coriolis force prevails. In this layer, water moves across isobars from areas of high
pressure to areas of low pressure and the flow is non-geostrophic. This layer is often
called as the Ekman layer.
The direction of water movement in the Ekman layer varies with depth. When driven by
the wind, the topmost layer of ocean water in the Northern Hemisphere flows at about
450 to the right of the wind direction. Each successive layer moves increasingly to right
(left) in the Northern (Southern) hemisphere. Current speed is largest at the surface and
decreases rapidly with depth. Current direction also changes with depth, and at some
depth the current actually opposes the surface current; however, at that depth the
current is so small that it can be considered negligible (bottom of Ekman layer). This
phenomenon of speed and direction of seawater flow at different depths may be
described in form of a spiral as shown in the figure, known as Ekman spiral.

Average movement of seawater under influence of wind is 900 to right of wind in

Northern hemisphere and 900 to left of wind in Southern hemisphere

12. What is angle of Ekman surface current and transport in Southern hemisphere?
 In southern hemisphere, the Ekman surface current flows at 45° angle to the left of the
wind direction and Average movement of seawater (transport) is 900 to left of wind.

13. Write Ekman equations

Ekman equations are given by:

, Coriolis force + Friction = 0

14. What is upwelling and Downwelling?

In Coastal regions, when Ekman transport moves surface waters away from the coast
replacing the surface waters by the nutrient rich water that wells up from below is known
as coastal upwelling. When Ekman transport moves surface waters toward the coast,
the water piles up and sinks in the process known as coastal downwelling. Upwelling
and downwelling also occur in the open ocean where winds cause surface waters to
diverge (move away) from a region (causing upwelling) or to converge toward some
region (causing downwelling). For example, upwelling takes place along much of the
equator.

Upwelling and downwelling illustrate mass continuity in the ocean; that is, water is a
continuous fluid so that a change in distribution of water in one area is accompanied by
a compensating change in water distribution in another area.

15. Write major regions of upwelling and downwelling over tropical Oceans?
Upwelling - Peru coast, California coast, east equatorial pacific, Somali, South west
African coast
Downwelling – Subtropical North Atlantic, Subtropical North Pacific, near Indonesia

16. What are Mixed Layer, Isothermal Layer and Barrier Layer?
 Wind blowing on the ocean stirs the upper layers leading to a thin mixed layer at the sea
surface having constant temperature and salinity from the surface down to a depth
where the values differ from those at the surface. The mixed layer is roughly 10-200 m
thick over most of the tropical and mid-latitude belts.
Isothermal layer is the layer of water having constant temperature from surface and this
could be 50 to 200. Below the mixed layer, water temperature decreases rapidly with
depth except at high latitudes. The range of depths where the rate of change, the
gradient of temperature, is large is called the thermocline. Because density is closely
related to temperature, the thermocline also tends to be the layer where density gradient
is greatest, the pycnocline.
The barrier layer is a layer of water separating the well-mixed surface layer
(Mixed Layer) from the thermocline. In the otherwards difference between ILD and MLD
is called BL. BL forms a barrier to entrainment and turbulent mixing of cold thermocline
water into the mixed layer and inhibits the downward mixing of momentum

Addatonal:
The mixed-layer is the oceanic surface zone that responds the most quickly and
directly to atmospheric fluxes, and it is through the mixed-layer that such influence is
transmitted to the whole ocean in the long term. Many important processes occur within
the mixed-layer, whether physical (e.g. direct wind-forcing of the ocean circulation),
chemical (e.g. dissolution of incoming CO2 from the atmosphere), or biological (e.g.
phytoplankton production).

17. Explain Southern Oscillation?

Southern Oscillation is an atmospheric pattern of cyclic variation in surface air pressure
between the tropical eastern and the western Pacific Ocean waters. The strength of the
Southern Oscillation is measured by the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI). The SOI is
computed from fluctuations in the surface air pressure difference between Tahiti (in the
eastern Pacific) and Darwin, Australia (western Pacific).
 It is an accompanying atmospheric component coupled with the sea temperature
change phenomena called El-Nino (warming phase) and La-Nina (cooling phase) with
high and low surface air pressure in the tropical Pacific. El Niño episodes have negative
SOI, meaning there is lower pressure over Tahiti and higher pressure in Darwin. La Niña
episodes have positive SOI, meaning there is higher pressure in Tahiti and lower in
Darwin.

18. What are El Nino and La Nina?

El Niño: A warming of the ocean surface, or above-average sea surface temperatures
(SST), in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Sustained warming of the
central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, results in a decrease in the strength of the
Pacific trade winds, which normally blow from east to west along the equator (“easterly
winds”), instead weaken or, in some cases, start blowing the other direction (from west
to east or “westerly winds”). Over Indonesia, rainfall tends to become reduced while
rainfall increases over the tropical Pacific Ocean.
La Niña: A cooling of the ocean surface, or below-average sea surface temperatures
(SST), in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Sustained cooling of the central
and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, results in an increase in the strength of the Pacific
trade winds and the normal easterly winds along the equator become even stronger.
Over Indonesia, rainfall tends to increase while rainfall decreases over the central
tropical Pacific Ocean.
The two periods last several years each (typically three to four) and their effects vary in
intensity.
 http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~perry/p596_au99/Samples/shortmed/larsonshort/index.html

19. Describe what is ENSO-monsoon teleconnection?

Anomalous sea surface temperature warming over the eastern and central Pacific region
during ENSO causes large scale convection and the associated deep convection causes
for anomalous subsidence over the Indian Monsoon region through reversal of walker
circulation. This subsidence results for reduced rainfall for Indian sub-continent.

During warm Pacific events, the ascending branch of the Walker circulation shifts
eastward in response to the anomalous warming in the central and eastern Pacific,
resulting in subsidence and reduced rainfall over the Indo-West Pacific region. Further
changes in Indian Ocean SST and atmospheric circulation in response to ENSO lead to
changes in Indian summer monsoon rainfall. For exp: SLP is high and winds are weak
over the Indian summer monsoon region during EL Nino.
20. Name at least four regions that effected by El Nino or La Nina.
The regions affected by El-Nino or La-Nina are East Asia, South Asia, Indonesia and
parts of South Africa.

21. What is Indian Ocean Dipole and describe with diagram?

The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is periodic oscillation of sea surface temperatures, from
‘positive’ to ‘neutral’ and then ‘negative’ phases. If the sea surface temperature of the
western end rises above normal (0.4°C) and becomes warmer than the eastern end, it
leads to a positive IOD. Conversely, during a negative IOD period the waters of the
tropical eastern Indian Ocean is warmer than water in the tropical western Indian Ocean.
This results in increased rainfall over parts of southern Australia. Difference between
west (10S to 10N and 50E to 70E) minus east (equator to 10S and 90E to 110E)
equatorial Indian Ocean SST anomalies gives IOD index.
The IOD affects the climate of Southeast Asia, Australia and other countries that
surround the Indian Ocean Basin. The Indian Monsoon is invariably influenced by the
IOD.

Positive IOD condition is favourable for the Indian Monsoon as it causes a kind of
barrier in the eastern Indian Ocean and all the southwesterly winds blow towards the
Indian sub-continent. Accordingly, the waters in the eastern Indian Ocean cools down,
which tends to cause droughts in adjacent land areas of Indonesia and Australia.

It is thought that the IOD has a link with ENSO events through an extension of
the Walker Circulation to the west and associated Indonesian through flow (the flow of
warm tropical ocean water from the Pacific into the Indian Ocean). Hence, positive IOD
events are often associated with El Niño and negative events with La Niña.
22. Name a few methods to measure ocean temperature and salinity?
SST on research ships is measured either from
(1) engine intake water or surface seawater samples collected in buckets or Niskin
bottles using thermometers
(2) using Thermistors mounted in probes such as XBTs or CTDs.
(3) using satellite based infrared or microwave radiometry.
Salinity is presently determined from conductivity. Salinity is measured both on seawater
samples collected from bottles such as on a rosette sampler, and through paired
conductivity and temperature sensors deployed in the water.

4. Prior to the widespread use of conductivity methods beginning in the 1960s,

salinities were calculated by titration. The process, operation, or method of

determining the concentration of a substance in solution by adding to it a
standard reagent of known concentration in carefully measured amounts until a
reaction of definite and known proportion is completed, usually as shown by a
 color change or by electrical measurement, and then calculating the unknown
concentration.

23. Describe how Argo floats work?

An Argo (Array of Real-time Geostrophic Observations) float has the sensors on its top
that measure temperature, salinity and pressure (depth), and an antenna to transmit the
data back via satellite. At the bottom, there is a rubber bladder, which, using a hydraulic
system can be deflated to make the float sink, or inflated to make it rise.
Once deployed, the Argo float descends to as deep as 2000 metres where it
drifts with the currents. After a typical period of 10 days, it slowly rises to the surface
measuring temperature and salinity profiles on the way up. At the surface, it relays this
information to Satellites for immediate availability via the Global Telecommunication
System and on the Internet after quality checks. Position of the float is calculated from
the Doppler shift of the transmitted message. It then sinks to begin another cycle.
The expected life of an Argo float is about four years.

24. What are Passive and Active sensors?

Passive sensors measure natural radiation emitted by the target material or/and
radiation energy from other sources reflected from the target.
Examples (Passive sensors):
(i) Passive microwave radiometer and (ii) Radiometers that measure reflected radiation
energy.
Active sensors transmit their own signal and measure the energy that is reflected (or
scattered back) from the target material.
Examples (Active sensors) :
(i) Radar (ii) Scattero-meter (iii) Lidar (iv) Altimeter

25. Name sensor types for ocean observations?

Various sensor types are described as below:
 Passive Sensors:
(i) Multi-spectral scanners, Imaging spectrometers (Visible wave band sensors)
used to measure ocean colour and surface roughness
(ii) Infra red imaging radiometers (Infra red sensors) used to measure sea surface
temperature, Salinity
(iii) Scanning Microwave radiometers (Microwave sensors) used to measure surface
roughness, Salinity
Active Sensors:
(i) Scatterometer, Imaging Radar, Altimeter used to measure surface slope and
roughness.

26. What are CTD and XBT?

XBT (Expendable Bathythermograph) is a profiling device. It consists of a thermistor and

electronic data acquisition system and is not retrievable. The XBT probe is shot from a
gun like device from the ship to the water. The probe is engineered to fall at a constant
rate. As it falls, it collects temperature data and relays that back to the ship.
CTD (acronym for Conductivity, Temperature and Depth) is also a profiling
device and is used to measure conductivity in conjunction with temperature and
pressure to calculate the salinity of the ocean. It consists of electrodes, thermistor and
pressure gauge for measuring the conductivity, temperature and pressure respectively.

27. Describe north Indian Ocean currents during different seasons.

Winter:
A schematic representation of currents observed during January-February. The currents identified are:
South Equatorial Current (SEC); South Equatorial Counter Current (SECC); Northeast and Southeast
Madagascar Current (NEMC and SEMC); East Africa Coastal Current (EACC); Somali Current (SC),
West India Coastal Current; Lakshadweep High (LH); East India Coastal Current (EICC); Northeast
Monsoon Current (NMC); South Java Current (JC); and, Leeuwin Current (LC). Also shown are
transports in Sv (106 m3 s-1) across sections shown as red lines. The Indo-Pacific Throughflow, which
enters from the east, influences both the SEC and the LC. The figure is taken from Schott and McCreary
(2001).

Summer:

A schematic representation of currents (green) observed during July-August. The currents identified
are: South Equatorial Current (SEC); South Equatorial Counter Current (SECC); Northeast and
Southeast Madagascar Current (NEMC and SEMC); East Africa Coastal Current (EACC); Somali
Current (SC), Southern Gyre (SG), Great Whirl (GW), and associated upwelling wedges (in blue);
Socotra Eddy (SE); Ras al Hadd Jet (RHJ) and upwelling wedge off Oman; West India Coastal Current;
Lakshadweep Low (LL); East India Coastal Current (EICC); Southwest Monsoon Current (SMC); Sri
Lanka Dome (SD); and, Leeuwin Current (LC). The figure is taken from Schott and McCreary (2001).

The region north of about 10S exhibits a circulation that is strongly seasonal, as
indicated by the differences in Figures. This is a consequence of the monsoons, the
 Southwest Monsoon (June-September) winds and precipitation being much stronger
than those in the Northeast Monsoon (November-February).
During the transition between the two Monsoons, May and October, the
equatorial Indian Ocean exhibits a unique feature: eastward Wyrtki Jets (Wyrtki 1973)
whose transports have been estimated to be between 12-20 Sv (106 m3 s-1). The highly
seasonal circulation north of 10 S, including the Wyrtki Jets, can be understood as
superposition of tropical and coastal locally- and remotely-forced low-frequency
(annual, semi-annual, etc.) waves. The waves can lead to strong boundary currents, the
most prominent example being the Somali Current during the Southwest Monsoon

28. Write differences between tropical Pacific and Indian Ocean SST distribution and
currents?

A large "warm pool" is found in the central and western Pacific. Surface water in the eastern
equatorial Pacific is several degrees cooler than in the west. The vertical thermal structure of
the upper ocean is responsible for these differences. In case of Indian Ocean SST is high in the
east equatorial region and low in the western part. Warmpool is located in the eastern
equatorial region.
Annual mean currents are eastward in the Indian Ocean and westward in the Pacific Ocean.
North of the equator currents are highly influenced by monsoon reversal. Anomalous
subtropical gyre is seen in subtropical Pacific (north of equator) which is not a case for Indian
Ocean.
29. Why warm pool is located western Pacific and eastern Indian Ocean near the equator?
Direction of equatorial currents in Indian and Pacific Ocean decide the warm pool.
Currents are towards east in Indian ocean and west in pacific, hence the location of
warm pool western pacific and eastern Indian ocean near the equator. These currents
transport warm water to western Pacific and eastern Indian Ocean which help pileup of
warm water there.

30. What factors affect wind wave development?

Following factors affect wind wave development:
1) Wind strength - wind must be moving faster than the wave crests for energy
transfer to continue
2) Wind duration - winds that blow for a short time will not generate large waves
3) Fetch - the uninterrupted distance over which the wind blows without changing
direction

31. What causes Tsunami waves?

Tsunami waves are caused by sudden changes in volume of ocean basin like
Submarine faults, Volcanic eruptions and Submarine landslides.

32. What causes Internal waves?

Because of the small density difference between the water masses above and below the
pycnocline, wave properties are different compared to surface waves that causes
Internal waves to form within the water column on the pycnocline. Any disturbance to the
pycnocline like Flow of water related to the tides, Flow of water masses past each other,
Storms, or Submarine landslides also generate internal waves.

33. What are factors that generate Tides?

Tides are generated by the gravitational potential of the moon and the sun. Their
propagation and amplitude are influenced by friction, the rotation of the earth (Coriolis
 force), and resonances determined by the shapes and depths of the ocean basins and
marginal seas.

34. What causes waves and give example of Ocean waves?

Waves are created by releases of energy (disturbances) including:
a) Wind
b) Movement of fluids of different densities
c) Mass movement into the ocean
d) Underwater sea floor movement (tsunami)
e) Pull of the Moon and Sun (tides)
f) Human activities
Following are the examples of ocean waves:
1) Planetary Waves: These waves depend on the rotation of the earth for a restoring
force, and they including Rossby, Kelvin, Equatorial, and Yanai waves.
2) Surface Waves or gravity waves: Waves that eventually break on the beach. The
restoring force is due to the large density contrast between air and water at the sea
surface.
3) Internal Waves: Sub-sea wave similar in some respects to surface waves. The
restoring force is due to change in density with depth.
4) Tsunamis: Surface waves with periods near 15 minutes generated by earthquakes.
5) Tidal Currents: Horizontal currents and currents associated with internal waves
driven by the tidal potential.
6) Edge Waves: Surface waves with periods of a few minutes confined to shallow
regions near shore. The amplitude of the waves drops off exponentially with distance
from shore.
35. What is ITCZ?
Intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ), also called equatorial convergence zone, belt of
converging trade winds and rising air that encircles the Earth near the Equator. The rising air
produces high cloudiness, frequent thunderstorms, and heavy rainfall; the doldrums, oceanic
regions of calm surface air, occur within the zone. The ITCZ shifts north and south seasonally
with the Sun. Over the Indian Ocean, it undergoes especially large seasonal shifts of 30°S–35°N
of latitude.
 http://fas.org/irp/imint/docs/rst/Sect14/Sect14_1c.html

http://monsoon.yale.edu/why-monsoons-happen/

36. What are the factors that influence SST over the Indian Ocean?
Factors that influence SST over the Indian Ocean are the annual cycle of Heat flux,
Horizontal advection, upwelling and reversal of monsoon winds.
37. What is the name for a zone where temperature rapidly changes with depth?
Thermocline.

38. How does salinity vary generally with latitude? With depth?
Ocean salinity is generally defined as the salt concentration. Salinity is less over
equator, higher in sub-tropics and less in extra-tropics. Salinity increases with depth.

39. How does the Coriolis Effect affect current direction?

Global winds drag on the water’s surface, causing it to move and build up in the direction
that the wind is blowing. And just as the Coriolis effect deflects winds to the right in the
Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere, it also results in the
deflection of major surface ocean currents to the right in the Northern Hemisphere (in a
clockwise spiral) and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere (in a counter-clockwise
spiral). These major spirals of ocean-circling currents are called “gyres” and occur north
and south of the equator. They do not occur at the equator, where the Coriolis effect is
not present.

40. What are the two general types of ocean currents?

Warm and cold currents.

41. How do gyres move in the northern hemisphere? In the southern hemisphere?
Gyres move to the right in the Northern Hemisphere (in a clockwise spiral) and to the left
in the Southern Hemisphere (in a counter-clockwise spiral).

42. What is an example of a warm water current? Which direction does it flow? How does it
affect climate in Northern Europe?
Examples of warm water current are Gulf stream and Kuroshio. Takes warm water from
equator to poles. It keeps Europe warmer.
43. What is an example of cold water current? Which way does it flow? How does it affect
climate along the West Coast?
Examples of cold water current are California and Peru current. It takes water from Poles
to Equator. It affects the west coast climate with deficit in rainfall and dry weather
conditions.

44. How can seawater’s density be altered?

Sea water density can be altered by temperature change, evaporation and fresh water
inputs.

45. Where can masses of seawater be observed to be sinking? Why?

Masses of sea water in North Atlantic and in Norwegian seas are observed to be sinking.
In Northern latitudes, like North Atlantic and Norwegian Seas, warm water that comes
from the Gulf Stream heats the atmosphere. This loss of heat to the atmosphere makes
the water cooler and denser, causing it to sink to the bottom of the ocean. As more warm
water is transported to North, the cooler water sinks and moves south to make room for
the incoming warm water.

46. Vertical distribution of water properties?

Vertical variation in temperature, salinity and the density of sea water has been

explained below:
Temperature

The mixed layer is a surface layer of relatively well-mixed properties. In summer in low
latitudes, it can be very thin or non-existent. In winter at middle to high latitudes, it can be
hundreds of meters thick, and in isolated deep convection regions, the mixed layer can be up
to 2000 m thick. Mixed layers are mixed by both wind and surface buoyancy forcing (air-sea
fluxes). The thermocline is a vertical zone of rapid temperature decrease with a depth of
roughly 1000 m. In the abyssal layer, between the thermocline and ocean bottom, potential
temperature decreases slowly. At high latitudes, a near-surface temperature minimum
(dichother-mallayer) is often found, a holdover from a cold winter mixed layer that is
“capped” with warmer waters in other seasons (Figure C) the underlying temperature
 maximum (mesothermal layer) results from advection of waters from somewhat warmer
locations. This temperature structure is stable because there is strong salinity stratification,
with fresher water in the surface layer.

Salinity:
In the tropics and southernmost part of the subtropical gyres, salinity is often
slightly lower at the sea surface than in the main part of the subtropics. Salinity
increases to a sharp subsurface maximum at depths of 100-200 m, close to the
top of the thermocline.

In the subtropics, salinity is high near the sea surface due to subtropical net
evaporation. Salinity decreases downward to a minimum in the vertical at 600-
1000m. Below this, salinity increases to a maximum, with the exact depths of the
vertical minimum and maximum depending on the ocean. In the Atlantic and
Indian Oceans, the salinity maximum is at depths of 1500-2000 m. In the Pacific,
the maximum salinity is at the bottom

In subpolar and high-latitude regions, with high precipitation, runoff, and

seasonal ice melt, there is generally low salinity at the sea surface. The
halocline, with a rapid down ward increase of salinity, lies between the surface
low-salinity layer and the deeper saltier water. In such regions, the pycnocline is
often determined by the salinity distribution rather than by temperature, which
remains relatively cold throughout the year, and may have only a weak
thermocline or even none at all. This condition, associated with runoff and
precipitation, occurs throughout the subpolar North Pacific. In the Arctic and
Antarctic and other regions of sea ice formation, ice melt in spring creates a
similarly freshened surface layer. This low salinity surface layer in regions like
the subpolar North Pacific and around Antarctica permits a vertical temperature
minimum near the sea surface, with a warmer layer below.

Density: (from Descriptive physical Oceanography)

The vertical structure of density is similar to that of potential temperature.

There is usually a shallow upper layer of nearly uniform density, then a layer
where the density increases rapidly with depth, called the pycnocline,
analogous to the thermocline. Below this is the deep zone where the density
increases more slowly with depth. There is much smaller variation with
latitude of the deep-water density compared with upper ocean density. As a
consequence, in high latitudes,where the surface density rises to sq ¼ 27
kg/m-3 or more, there is a smaller increase of density with depth than in the
low latitudes, and the pycnocline is much weaker.
What drives the ocean currents?
Following are the main causes that drive the ocean currents:
1) The rise and fall of the tides, which is driven by the gravitational attraction of the
sun and moon on Earth's oceans.
2) Wind. Winds drive currents that are at or near the ocean's surface. Winds drive
currents near coastal areas on a localized scale, and in the open ocean on a
global scale.
3) Thermohaline circulation, a process driven by density differences in water due to
temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline) in different parts of the ocean. Currents
driven by thermohaline circulation occur at both deep and shallow ocean levels
and move much slower than tidal or surface currents.

47. The oceans contain approximately _97_% of all the Earth’s water.
48. When wind blows across a body of water, __friction__ between the air and water causes
water to move.

49. What are differences between Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal?

A comparison between Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal has been showninthe
following table:

Bay of Bengal Arabian Sea

Surface temperature in the Bay of Bengal is Temperature is low in the western
usually between 22°C and 31ºC. Arabian Sea.
Salinity near the surface in the northern Bay of Salinity near the surface in the Arabian
Bengal can be as low as 31 ppt because the Sea is much higher than in the Bay of
bay receives lots of freshwater in the form of Bengal because evaporation over the
rain and from runoff of surrounding rivers Arabian Sea is much greater and it
(Ganga, Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Godavari, receives relatively less river runoff.
and others)
MLD is shallow Deep
Upwelling is weak strong