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Why is the development of internal waves likely within the pycnocline?
The pycnocline is the ocean layer with the greatest density gradient. Internal waves are often caused by currents, which are caused by differing densities. Also, any disturbance to the pycnocline (such as ships, storms, tides, etc.) can generate internal waves.
Which term refers to the layer of water in which there is a rapid change of temperature with depth in the ocean?
Thermocline
Does a strong thermocline typically exist near the poles?
No, there close no thermocline at the poles because there is almost no thermocline in polar waters due to the little amount of solar radiation at the poles.
How does warm water mix with cool water in the surface zone?
thermocline
What happens to the temperature of ocean water in the thermocline region?
the temperature drops rapidly :)
How is the pycnocline related to the thermocline and halocline?
A pycnocline is a type of ecocline (or "cline" for short), just as thermocline and halocline are. An ecocline is where a series of biocommunities display a continuous gradient. A pycnocline is the difference in water density. A thermocline is the difference in water temperature. A halocline is the difference in water salinity
What are the variables that causes water to stratify and why?
Water stratification is when water masses with different properties - salinity (halocline), oxygenation (chemocline), density (pycnocline), temperature (thermocline) - form layers that act as barriers to water mixing which could lead to anoxia or euxinia.
Why do high latitude water lack a pycnocline?
Density variations of seawater with latitude are very similar to those for temperature variations with latitude. Because of the influence of temperature on seawater density, low latitudes exhibit lower densities at the surface that rapidly increase with depth. Higher latitudes exhibit little or no difference in density owing to the lack of a thermocline. Such a rapid change in density with depth is called a pycnocline, and like a thermocline is absent at higher latitudes.
What is the pycnocline?
YES. A thermocline is a sudden change in the temperature of the water. A halocline is a sudden change in the salinity of the water. A pycnocline is a sudden change in both. The warmer, fresh water will advance to the top of the water, and the cold, salty water will stay at the bottom. Since there are two factors effecting this, pycnoclines happen to be more distinct.
How are thernocline and pycnocline related?
YES. A thermocline is a sudden change in the temperature of the water. A halocline is a sudden change in the salinity of the water. A pycnocline is a sudden change in both. The warmer, fresh water will advance to the top of the water, and the cold, salty water will stay at the bottom. Since there are two factors effecting this, pycnoclines happen to be more distinct.
What layer of the ocean experiences a rapid change in density of seawater?
pycnocline
Does dense water sink into or floats onto less dence water?
Yes, more dense (colder water) sinks below less dense (warmer) water. That is the reason for the Thermocline.^^^^^^A widespread permanent thermocline exists beneath the relatively warm, well-mixed surface layer, from depths of about 200 m (660 feet) to about 1,000 m (3,000 feet), in which interval temperatures diminish steadily. The deep waters below the thermocline layer decrease in temperature much more gradually toward the seafloor. In latitudes marked by distinct seasons, a seasonal thermocline at much shallower depths forms during the summer as a result of solar heating, and it is destroyed by diminished insolation and increased surface turbulence during the winter. Water density is governed by temperature and salinity; consequently, the thermocline coincides generally with the pycnocline, or layer in which density increases rapidly with depth. The middle layer of water in a lake or reservoir during the summer is also called a thermocline.^^^^"thermocline." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2009 Deluxe Edition. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2009.
Why is the development of internal waves likely within the pycnocline?
The pycnocline is the ocean layer with the greatest density gradient. Internal waves are often caused by currents, which are caused by differing densities. Also, any disturbance to the pycnocline (such as ships, storms, tides, etc.) can generate internal waves.
A pycnocline caused by salinity differences is called?
Halocline
A rapid change in density with depth in the ocean is called the?
pycnocline
How does the permanent thermocline in tropical oceans affect primary productivity in those areas?
Thermocline is defined by having increased temperatures in the surface water but cold water temperatures in the deep sea due to sunlight being unable to penetrate ocean waters the deeply. Sunlight and increased temperatures in water is associated with low nutrients therefore anything with a strong thermocline is pertained to low nutrients but high sunlight.
Which term refers to the layer of water in which there is a rapid change of temperature with depth in the ocean?
Thermocline
