These are the currents moved by a heat/saline density...think about the heat in a room...the heat rising, the cooler air the migrates towards the floor, so in the equatorial regions of the earth, we have water of varying density of haline (saline or salt) being heated and sliding towards the cooler areas of the oceans because of the molecular expansion (as molecules heat they move in larger spaces...i.e..steam) so we have movement upwards, and northwards (below the equator it is southward). The thermo-haline circulation is called the Gulf Current and is responsible for the weather along the North Atlantic Coast. There are layers in the oceans of various temperatures and these are called rivers...so while the top layer may flow northwards, the lower layers may do the reverse, and there is also movement in the verticle inclines as the more dense the salt concentration moves downwards, forcing other water upwards and creates a constant inversion. However, there is a limit to the depth of this inversion and places like where the Titanic sank are virtually unaffected by the currents and the temperature remains almost stable...in the 30s...constantly. A lot of oceanography is based on the movement of waters and submarine geology but temperatures are very useful too. The Titanic that sunk many years ago would be a pile of rust if it had been in shallower water...at deep sub-sea, there is little oxygen, and so less oxidation, and the Japanese ships sunk in the Truk Islands are decaying faster than the Titanic...though they were sunk in 1944.
Some people like to think of the thermo-haline current as a simple convection current and in part that is correct but there are many other factors involved.
2006-10-08 12:26:21
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answer #1
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answered by Frank 6
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Its because of the fact the earth moved on its axis! The polar cap will soften as its now moved a pair of hundred miles from its unique spot. it would desire to have a domino result over the international. Climates will circulate in the path of the hot tilt. The earth has consistently moved on its axis - i exchange into taught this in college over 50 years in the past!
2016-12-16 04:25:28
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answer #2
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answered by wetzel 4
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Hi. Subsurface currents due to density. Try here : http://www.cru.uea.ac.uk/cru/info/thc/
2006-10-08 12:02:45
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answer #3
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answered by Cirric 7
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