Earth Science Stack Exchange
Earth Science Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [oceanography]

Oceanography is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean. It is also known as oceanology.

405 questions
5
votes
1 answer

Differences between linear airy wave theory and Stokes' 5 wave theory? and it's application

What is the difference between linear airy wave theory and 5th order Stokes wave theory? What is the differences in terms of application. I am looking more on offshore structure analysis aspects. Thanks.
HongYaw
  • 51
  • 2
5
votes
1 answer

Missing pages in Knauss' "Introduction to Physical Oceanography, 2nd edition"?

"Introduction to Physical Oceanography, 2nd edition" by John Knauss is a popular oceanography textbook. I bought a copy. It ends at page 308, apparently in the middle of the index. (It seems unlikely that the index would end at "tidal," without…
Michael
  • 53
  • 2
5
votes
1 answer

Why are the seas difficult to navigate at the "southern edge" of land?

The question was inspired by an answer to this question on History SE, which referred to the "at times enormous waves" at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, and the even more "treacherous" passage around Cape Horn. Why is the sea so hard to…
Tom Au
  • 2,244
  • 15
  • 24
5
votes
1 answer

What is the difference between vertical turbulent entrainment and turbulent diffusion in the ocean?

In analyses of mixed layer heat budget analysis, authors of different papers have considered the contribution of vertical mixing in different ways. Halkides and Lee (2011) have considered entrainment, vertical advection and vertical mixing as…
Reqbisha
  • 339
  • 1
  • 6
4
votes
1 answer

If the saturation point of saltwater is 26%, why aren't oceans getting saltier over time?

From what I read they've been at 3.5% salt equilibrium for millions of years. How is this possible when rivers are constantly flowing dissolving salt into them?
Groveish
  • 41
  • 1
4
votes
1 answer

Why does vertical diffusivity increase with depth in the ocean?

In Talley et al.'s Descriptive Physical Oceanography, figure S7.4, it seems that vertical Eddy diffusivity increases with depth between 0 and 30 degrees latitude. Why is this? I thought that diffusivity increases with increasing temperature, but…
Auguste Baudin
  • 41
  • 2
3
votes
0 answers

Ranges of Ocean wave number and Ocean wave frequency

I am new to oceanography. As per the practical scenario, what is the range of wave number and wave frequency values? Thanks in advance.
M.Shanmuga sundari
  • 151
  • 3
3
votes
0 answers

What are some proxies for ocean temperatures/heat?

And how does their temporal resolution compare with proxies for air temperatures? Can they forecast ocean temperatures in all regions of the ocean equally well, or only some regions of the ocean?
InquilineKea
  • 7,827
  • 2
  • 22
  • 60
3
votes
0 answers

Deep Sea Exploration - Is there a purpose to human exploration?

Should humans explore the deep ocean (1800meters or deeper) or is this the realm of AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles)? It seems that such deep ocean exploration is best done by AUVs. They are easier to build, cheaper to maintain, less expensive…
IDNeon
  • 81
  • 3
3
votes
0 answers

Is the slowing down of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation a response to climate change?

I have been taught that the changes in current were caused primarily by climate change but upon reading the conclusion of the paper named: "Observed decline of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation 2004–2012" I am left baffled if climate…
hello
  • 31
  • 1
3
votes
1 answer

Can a sonar used to graph the ocean floors detect through polluted and highly populated waters?

So graphing the ocean floors using sonar is not anything new. But what are the limits to sonar? Would it be possible for a regular sonar device to emit sounds that are strong enough to penetrate through polluted waters? And if they can, how much…
user17688
3
votes
1 answer

barotropic component definition

In this paper the author calculated the barotropic component $u_{bt}$ of the current $u$ as: the vertical mean velocity weigthed with the depth differences If I am not wrong, in a continuous case, this translates to: $$ u_{bt} =…
shamalaia
  • 529
  • 2
  • 14
3
votes
0 answers

Change on naval distances

I am working on a shipping company and we have several applications to calculate the distance between two ports. My curiosity was triggered by the fact that, time by time I see a small change on the distance. For example, when the distance was 2000…
Emka
  • 131
  • 2
2
votes
1 answer

Questions about Stommel's Two-Box Model (North Atlantic Current)

I have a question about a module on Stommel's Two-Box model. I am uncertain about the following density equation: $ \Delta \rho = | R \Delta S - \Delta T| $ A larger difference between temperatures/salinity levels across the two regions of the…
AAAA
  • 85
  • 3
2
votes
1 answer

How does nature dilute Ocean and Seas so that we can swim in them?

I have a question about the seas and ocean we swim in. How does the Ocean get rid off all the natural pollutants (for example dead animal debris) and man-made pollutants (human waste, garbage, etc)? I know that there's salt in the water, which helps…
user17688
1
2 3