Why does cold water sink under warm water in the ocean?

Answer 1

ahhh, sink in relation to what... they sink in relation to other air and other water... normal temperature air and normal temperature water they sink because cold things are thicker (more massive) than warm things. They are thicker because the atoms have less random motion when they are cooler. Thicker things are heavier than warm things because they have more atoms in the same amount of space. Heavier things fall below lighter things, so cooler (heavier) things sink below normal or warmer (lighter) things.

Answer 2

Cold Water sinks below cold water for a number of reasons. One reason is because when water heats up and nears evaporation the molecules move faster and faster and the density decreases. Another reason is because the more this process continues the faster the convectioon current. A convection current is when the water heats at the bottom, and cools at the top. When this happens the water forms a circular current and the water is pushed along which speeds the process of warm water rising. Hope this helps.

The Science Guy

Answer 3

This first part has all got to do with thermodynamics.

Cold water takes up less space than hot water.

One litre of Cold water is in other words "more" than one litre of hot water.

It is not easy to measure, but it works that way.

Since Cold water is "heavier" or "more compact" it will sink down in hotter water.

Salt on the other hand is quite heavy. One litre of salt is heavier than one litre of water, ergo it will sink to the bottom.

It slowly dissolves into the water and creates "salt water". This salt water is quite a bit heavier than fresh water pr litre, hence it sinks down.

The effect of Saltwater versus Fresh water can easily be tested.

If you jump into the swimming pool, you barely float if your breathing is steady.

If you jump into the ocean, you can very well float without so much breathing technique.

Having a bath in the Dead Sea (with a very high concentration of salt) you feel like floating on top of the water, difficult to dive down because you float like a cork.

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<P>Density.

<P>In cold water, the particles move more slowly than in hot water. So the particles in the hot water collide more strongly and push each other apart more (they expand). This means the same amount of water weighs less (so the hot water floats). The particles in the cold water move slower and so are closer together. They are therefore more dense and tend to sink in the less dense hot water. Salt water has salt dissolved in it so it to is denser than freshwater and sinks.</P>

Answer 4

It's because the atoms in warm water are being excited by the heat making them move more resulting in the lower density