Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Figure 9: Freshwater forcing - Coggle Diagram
Figure 9: Freshwater forcing
Figure 2: features of THC
Upwelling of deep water
Difficult to observe, not localized like convection
Near-surface currents
Close the flow
Spreading of deep water
Deep water formation
Sinking of water masses
Circulation cycle
Evaporation at low latitudes causes salty water
Water travels north because is more dense
Water cools due to higher latitudes
Deepwater formed is able to penetrate thermal stratificaion
Melting on sea ice at high latitudes
decreases salt concentration
Less dense water renterns to lower latitudes
How increasing the freshwater
delivery to the north Atlantic
"short circuits" the thermohaline
circulation.
All transitions happen when freshwater forcing is >0
When freshwater forcing occurs atlantic
THC is more likely to switch stable states
Features of figure 9
Transitions
Convection shutdown
Casung the atlantic THC to switch stable states
Restrat of convection
Advetic spindown
Solid black lines
Dotted black lines are unstable
Stable equilibrium states
Other key concepts
MOC
Meridional overturning circulation
A system of ocean currents
Confined to the meridional direction
Drake passage effect
Upwelling due to corilis force
Comes from deep waters
Lack of topographic barriers at the latitude band of drake passage
Ekman transport
Ekman cells
Transport of near surface flow