In comparison with solar radiation, the energy of geothermal
heat flowing through the sea bottom is extremely small; nevertheless,
this energy is not insignificant in the circulation of the bottom water.
Calculations indicate that in the deep basins of the South Atlantic the
water volume transport necessary to remove this heat is at least
one-tenth of the total northward flow of Antarctic Bottom Water.
Plots of mean values of near bottom salinity and oxygen versus mean
potential temperatures help to trace the movement of the bottom
water.
Geothermal and adiabatic warming associated with downslope
flow combine to produce a deep temperature (in situ) minimum in
portions of most of the deep basins of the world. Adiabatic or near
adiabatic temperature gradients have been measured near the bottom
in many of these basins. Evidence of superadiabatic gradients from
temperature measurements made with reversing thermometers is
inconclusive; however, careful measurements with closely spaced
thermometers suggest that such gradients do exist over vertical distances
of a few hundred meters in some of the deepest basins.
Decreasing potential density with depth, as found in some of the
Atlantic Basins in association with sharp temperature and salinity
gradients, is not necessarily an indication of unstable equilibrium.
This is demonstrated by the results of stability calculations in the
manner prescribed by Hesselberg and Sverdrup (1915). / Graduation date: 1968
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ORGSU/oai:ir.library.oregonstate.edu:1957/28254 |
| Date | 02 August 1967 |
| Creators | Olson, Boyd Ellertson |
| Contributors | Patullo, June G. |
| Source Sets | Oregon State University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
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