After sampling a column of water from the surface to a depth...

Name: Problem 4, Chapter 14: Earth Science
Uploaded: 2020-05-17T00:18:51-08:00
Duration: 1 min 27 s
Channel: Samantha Baker
Description: After sampling a column of water from the surface to a depth of 3,000 meters, a colleague aboard an oceanographic research vessel tells you that the water column is fsopycnal. What does that mean? What conditions create such a situation? What would have to happen in order to create a pycnocline?

After sampling a column of water from the surface to a depth of 3,000 meters, a colleague aboard an oceanographic research vessel tells you that the water column is fsopycnal. What does that mean? What conditions create such a situation? What would have to happen in order to create a pycnocline?

Key Concepts

Isopycnal

An isopycnal layer refers to a section in a water column where the density remains nearly constant from the surface down to depth. In such layers, the forces that typically induce stratification, such as variations in temperature or salinity, are either balanced or sufficiently uniform so that the density does not change appreciably, allowing water masses to move along surfaces of equal density without significant resistance.

Density Stratification

Density stratification in the ocean results primarily from variations in temperature and salinity, which combine to determine the overall density of the water. When temperature gradients (thermoclines) or salinity gradients (haloclines) are pronounced, they lead to layers with distinct densities. Well-mixed water with little variation in these properties is thus characterized by weak stratification, as seen in an isopycnal water column.

Pycnocline

A pycnocline is a layer within a water column where there is a rapid change in density with depth. The development of a pycnocline occurs when contrasting water masses, typically having different temperature and/or salinity characteristics, come into contact and are separated by a distinct gradient. For a pycnocline to form in an otherwise uniformly dense column, there would need to be a change in the mixing processes or a new input of water with different properties, which would enhance the vertical density gradient.

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