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ANTARCTIC CIRCUMPOLAR CURRENT David Grace. THE CURRENT Dominant Southern ocean current Largest ocean current “Mix Master” Keeps warm water out and cold.

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Presentation on theme: "ANTARCTIC CIRCUMPOLAR CURRENT David Grace. THE CURRENT Dominant Southern ocean current Largest ocean current “Mix Master” Keeps warm water out and cold."— Presentation transcript:

1 ANTARCTIC CIRCUMPOLAR CURRENT David Grace

2 THE CURRENT Dominant Southern ocean current Largest ocean current “Mix Master” Keeps warm water out and cold water in

3 STRUCTURE  Subantarctic front  Polar front  Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front (SACCF)

4 TRANSPORT West to East flow Connects three Ocean Basins (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian) ~125 Sv 135 Sv at Drake passage and 147 Sv south of Tasmania Flow is controlled by bottom topography Depths of 2000-4000 m (and can be as wide as 2000 km)

5 MIXING Water, heat, and salt are mixed from the three ocean basins Salinity and temperature decrease as the water crosses the different fronts going more south

6 DYNAMICS  Water parcels drift outward due to Coriolis  Northward Ekman transport balanced by southward, pressure driven flow (northward pressure bradient)  ~10 cm/s  Current driven by strong Westerly winds  No land to impede momentum

7 References http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/southern/ antarctic-cp.html http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/southern/ antarctic-cp.html http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/ocng_te xtbook/chapter13/chapter13_04.htm http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/ocng_te xtbook/chapter13/chapter13_04.htm http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/fahan_mi_shipwrec ks/infohut/acc.htm http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/fahan_mi_shipwrec ks/infohut/acc.htm http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki 100k/docs/Antarctic_Circumpolar_Current.html http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki 100k/docs/Antarctic_Circumpolar_Current.html


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