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Ring Shedding
Ring shedding is a phenomenon in ocean currents where circle or ring-shaped eddies separate from the current. The rings are independent water current systems that can persist for several months and occur in most ocean basins. The separated rings can have both Warm core ring, warm or Cold core ring, cold cores and play a role in the thermohaline circulation, interocean mixing, and nutrient supply for algae and bacteria. The physical processes behind ring shedding are not fully understood yet and are thus an active subject of research. Process of ring shedding Ring shedding often takes place in the retroflect, retroflection region, the region where the current loops back, as the retroflection is a condition for ring shedding to take place. The turbulent and dynamic nature of the ocean causes the current loop to sometimes close onto itself and separate ("shed") from the current. This results in an independent ring current that drifts away from the main current. The exact moment a r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ocean Current
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of seawater generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, shoreline configurations, and interactions with other currents influence a current's direction and strength. Ocean currents move both horizontally, on scales that can span entire oceans, as well as vertically, with vertical currents (upwelling and downwelling) playing an important role in the movement of nutrients and gases, such as carbon dioxide, between the surface and the deep ocean. Ocean currents flow for great distances and together they create the global conveyor belt, which plays a dominant role in determining the climate of many of Earth's regions. More specifically, ocean currents influence the temperature of the regions through which they travel. For example, warm currents traveling along more temperate coasts increase the temper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
