508
Glossary of Chemical Oceanography Terms
California Current: Flows south along the western United States and Peru; results in
coastal upwelling and lower water temperatures.
Canadian Basin: Basin in the Arctic Sea; contains waters that move in a clockwise gyre
that flow out to become the East Greenland Current (depth of 3800 m).
Canary Current: A current flowing south from the North Atlantic Current along the
northwestern coast of Africa. Continues south to join the North Equatorial Current.
Circumpolar Current: Flows clockwise around the South Pole. Has a northerly component and the largest volume flow rate (150–190 Sv) in the ocean.
Clay: Product of the weathering of rocks. Fine particles of hydrous aluminum silicates
and other minerals. An example of a lithogenous sediment. Clay is transported to
the oceans by rivers, wind, volcanic action, and glacial waters.
Coastal Plain Estuary: An estuary that results from land subsidence or a rise of sea level.
Cold Core Rings: Gulf Stream eddies formed in the northern part of the Gulf Stream
Current. The rings flow as a counterclockwise gyre and move to the south. They
carry cold, high- nutrient water from the coastal water north of the Gulf Stream to
the south. Rings can exist 2 to 4 yr, but most rejoin the Gulf Stream after 1/2 or 1 yr.
Continent: One of the six great divisions of land masses on the globe.
Continental Slope: Averages 4000 m from shelf to sea bottom, sometimes as much as
9000 m.
Convergence Zones: Area where ocean characteristics (T, S) change rapidly (e.g., subtropical convergence).
Cosmogenous: One of the four types of sediment; of cosmic or extraterrestrial origin
(meteorites).
Cromwell Current: A current in Equatorial Pacific once found and forgotten until it was
rediscovered by Cromwell. It was not predicted by theory. It is an undercurrent at
the equator with an average transport of 40 Sv and speeds up to 170 cm s
–1 .
Deep- Basin Estuary: An estuary that has a sill toward the sea that is shallower than the
basin and the outside sea.
Deep- Sea Bottom: Represents the most extensive area of the ocean; from 3 to 6 km in depth.
Deep Water: Water located below the intermediate waters. Generally has very low temperature (2°C) and high salinity (34.9), yielding a high density.
Dicothermal Layer: A layer in ocean waters at high latitudes where cold waters are sandwiched between two warmer layers; stability is maintained by an increase in salinity through the layer.
Drake Passage: Area between the southern tip of South America and Antarctica, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Circumpolar Current passes through
this region.
East Australian Current: Southward- flowing water along the eastern coast of Australia.
East Greenland Current: Flows south with a transport of 7.5 Sv along eastern coast of
Greenland. Carries ice and waters from the Arctic Sea into the North Atlantic.
East Wind Drift: The current that flows counterclockwise around Antarctica, driving
surface water circulation.
Equation of State: An equation that describes the volume properties of seawater as a
function of salinity, temperature, and pressure.
Equator: The dividing boundary between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres
formed by the intersection of a plane passing through the earth’s center perpendicular to its axis of rotation.
Equatorial Countercurrent: Flows southeast between the west- moving North Equatorial
Current and the South Equatorial Current. The current speed slows in the spring,
Glossary of Chemical Oceanography Terms
California Current: Flows south along the western United States and Peru; results in
coastal upwelling and lower water temperatures.
Canadian Basin: Basin in the Arctic Sea; contains waters that move in a clockwise gyre
that flow out to become the East Greenland Current (depth of 3800 m).
Canary Current: A current flowing south from the North Atlantic Current along the
northwestern coast of Africa. Continues south to join the North Equatorial Current.
Circumpolar Current: Flows clockwise around the South Pole. Has a northerly component and the largest volume flow rate (150–190 Sv) in the ocean.
Clay: Product of the weathering of rocks. Fine particles of hydrous aluminum silicates
and other minerals. An example of a lithogenous sediment. Clay is transported to
the oceans by rivers, wind, volcanic action, and glacial waters.
Coastal Plain Estuary: An estuary that results from land subsidence or a rise of sea level.
Cold Core Rings: Gulf Stream eddies formed in the northern part of the Gulf Stream
Current. The rings flow as a counterclockwise gyre and move to the south. They
carry cold, high- nutrient water from the coastal water north of the Gulf Stream to
the south. Rings can exist 2 to 4 yr, but most rejoin the Gulf Stream after 1/2 or 1 yr.
Continent: One of the six great divisions of land masses on the globe.
Continental Slope: Averages 4000 m from shelf to sea bottom, sometimes as much as
9000 m.
Convergence Zones: Area where ocean characteristics (T, S) change rapidly (e.g., subtropical convergence).
Cosmogenous: One of the four types of sediment; of cosmic or extraterrestrial origin
(meteorites).
Cromwell Current: A current in Equatorial Pacific once found and forgotten until it was
rediscovered by Cromwell. It was not predicted by theory. It is an undercurrent at
the equator with an average transport of 40 Sv and speeds up to 170 cm s
–1 .
Deep- Basin Estuary: An estuary that has a sill toward the sea that is shallower than the
basin and the outside sea.
Deep- Sea Bottom: Represents the most extensive area of the ocean; from 3 to 6 km in depth.
Deep Water: Water located below the intermediate waters. Generally has very low temperature (2°C) and high salinity (34.9), yielding a high density.
Dicothermal Layer: A layer in ocean waters at high latitudes where cold waters are sandwiched between two warmer layers; stability is maintained by an increase in salinity through the layer.
Drake Passage: Area between the southern tip of South America and Antarctica, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Circumpolar Current passes through
this region.
East Australian Current: Southward- flowing water along the eastern coast of Australia.
East Greenland Current: Flows south with a transport of 7.5 Sv along eastern coast of
Greenland. Carries ice and waters from the Arctic Sea into the North Atlantic.
East Wind Drift: The current that flows counterclockwise around Antarctica, driving
surface water circulation.
Equation of State: An equation that describes the volume properties of seawater as a
function of salinity, temperature, and pressure.
Equator: The dividing boundary between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres
formed by the intersection of a plane passing through the earth’s center perpendicular to its axis of rotation.
Equatorial Countercurrent: Flows southeast between the west- moving North Equatorial
Current and the South Equatorial Current. The current speed slows in the spring,