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Founded in 1876, Texas A&M University is a U.S. public and comprehensive university offering a wide variety of academic programs far beyond its original label of agricultural and mechanical trainings. It is one of the few institutions holding triple federal designations as a land-, sea- and ...
In physical oceanography, a process whereby Ekman pumping injects surface water into intermediate depths along isopycnal surfaces. This process is responsible for the formation of the water masses in the permanent thermocline. Although it is a permanent process, water mass formation occurs only in late autumn and winter due to variations in the seasonal thermocline.
Industry:Earth science
In physical oceanography, a quantity equal to the local thickness of a water layer divided by the local sine of latitude.
Industry:Earth science
In physical oceanography, a region in the Southern Ocean between the Southern ACC Front and the continent of Antarctica. It is characterized hydrographically by a water mass of uniform temperature and low salinity in the upper 500 m. The CZ is one of four distinct surface water mass regimes in the Southern Ocean, the others being (to the north) the Antarctic Zone (AZ), the Polar Front Zone (PFZ) and the Subantarctic Zone (SAZ).
Industry:Earth science
In physical oceanography, a subsurface eastward flow that is about 100-200 m thick and 200-300 km wide. It is centered approximately on the equator, and its core lies just beneath the base of the mixed layer in the top of the equatorial thermocline. Such a current is found in all three oceans, although it appears to be a seasonal phenomenon in the Indian Ocean.
Industry:Earth science
In physical oceanography, a term used to identify thermocline water masses in all three oceans. The water arrives at the thermocline via a process known as subduction. Central Water is characterized by T-S relationships that span a large range that is nonetheless well-defined by the method of formation. The term was originally introduced to differentiate between thermocline water of the central north Atlantic Ocean (now known as NACW) and water from the shelf area to west, but now has the abovementioned broader meaning.
Industry:Earth science
In physical oceanography, a water mass formed at the boundary between the subtropical gyres via mixing in the Equatorial Countercurrent and the Equatorial Undercurrent. NPEW is a mixture of WNPCW and SPEW. This combination of formation process and ancestral water masses makes NPEW one of the few water masses not formed through air-sea interaction.
Industry:Earth science
In physical oceanography, a water mass formed between 150-180° W (by processes not yet well understood) and separated from the WSPCW by a gradual transition zone from 145-100° W., from which it is distinguished as being fresher at all T-S values. It is bound to the north by SPEW, from which it is also distinguished by being fresher at all T-S points, to the south by the STC, and to the east by a not yet well understood area having salinities as low as 34.1 east of 90° W.
Industry:Earth science
In physical oceanography, a water mass formed during the winter only in the central of the gyre Greenland Sea, where the cooling of surface water causes intense vertical convection. The water sinks to the bottom in events related to the passage of storm systems that last less than a week and occur in regions only a few kilometers across. GSDW is the densest water mass in the Greenland Sea, characterized by a salinity typically 34.88 to 34.90 and very cold temperatures, i.e. always under 0° C and typically -1.1 to -1.3° C.
Industry:Earth science
In physical oceanography, a water mass formed in the arid easternMediterranean Sea that flows westward and sinks in the Algero-Ligurian and Alboran basins to depth of about 500 m due to its relatively high salinity of 36.5 to 39.1. It continues westward into the Atlantic Ocean through the shallow Straits of Gibraltar (at depths below 150 m) where it sinks to about 1000 m, forming a distinctive water mass with a temperature of 11-12° C and a salinity of 36.0-36.2. It can be recognized as a salinity and temperature maximum near 1000 m. This is also denoted as EMW or Eurafrican MW to distinguish it from Australasian MW.
Industry:Earth science
In physical oceanography, a water mass formed in the region of the surface salinity maximum just south of 30° N where salinities greater than 35 are found year round. This is reflected in the portion of ENPCW above 17° C, which has salinities higher than those of all other water masses in the vicinity. It is fresher than both WNPCW and NPEW at temperatures below 17° C, and saltier in the upper thermocline waters warmer than this. It is bounded to the west from WNPCW at about 170° E, and to the south from NPEW at about 12-14° N.
Industry:Earth science
