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Antarctic Circumpolar Current

Antarctic Circumpolar Current. David Grace. The Current. Dominant Southern ocean current Largest ocean current “ M ix Master” Keeps warm water out and cold water in. Subantarctic front Polar front Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front (SACCF). Structure. Transport.

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Antarctic Circumpolar Current

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  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. Subantarctic front • Polar front • Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front (SACCF) Structure

  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. 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 Dynamics

  7. References • http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/southern/antarctic-cp.html • http://oceanworld.tamu.edu/resources/ocng_textbook/chapter13/chapter13_04.htm • http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/fahan_mi_shipwrecks/infohut/acc.htm • http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Antarctic_Circumpolar_Current.html

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