bottom topography
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bottom topography ~sea-f1oor topography.
bottom trawl ~trawl.
bottom water a high-density water mass that has sunk down to the ocean bottom.
The origin of bottom water lies at the polar regions, where water sinks
because of convective cooling. Bottom water, however, can be traced all the
way to beyond the equator, becoming more and more dispersed into higher
levels.
Bouguer anomaly ~gravity anomaly.
Bouma sequence ~turbidite.
boundary current in oceanography the term boundary current is preferentially
used for the narrow, strong currents that are found at the western side of the
oceanic gyres. This strengthening of the western side of the gyre, the so-called western intensification, is one of the important issues in the circulation
of the oceans. Theoretical explanations are based upon the balance of vorticity. Examples of boundary currents are the Gulf Stream along the east coast of
N. America and the Kuroshio along the coast of Japan. These currents are
associated with a sharp transition between relatively light, warm, and saline
water in the east and relatively heavy, cold, and less saline water in the west.
Because of dynamic instability these currents form meanders that may even
become detached from the main current and drift around as isolated large
eddies.
boundary layer in a fluid that flows along a boundary a layer develops in which
the flow pattern is determined by the transport of momentum between the
flow and the boundary. The current in this layer differs in speed and/or
direction from that outside this layer, and boundary layers are therefore characterized by current shear. In these layers turbulence is generated that is not
only effective in the transport of momentum, but also causes transport of
other physical and chemical properties between the boundary and the undisturbed fluid.
Boussinesq approximation approximation of the hydrodynamical equations, attributed to Boussinesq (1903), ~ocean dynamics.
box corer (syn. Kastengreifer), type of corer that retrieves relatively undisturbed
surface sediment samples in a box. The boxes have a variable length and surface. Upon retraction of the box out of the sediment, a spade is rotated over
the snout in such a way as to make a tight seal. ~bottom samplers.
36
bottom topography ~sea-f1oor topography.
bottom trawl ~trawl.
bottom water a high-density water mass that has sunk down to the ocean bottom.
The origin of bottom water lies at the polar regions, where water sinks
because of convective cooling. Bottom water, however, can be traced all the
way to beyond the equator, becoming more and more dispersed into higher
levels.
Bouguer anomaly ~gravity anomaly.
Bouma sequence ~turbidite.
boundary current in oceanography the term boundary current is preferentially
used for the narrow, strong currents that are found at the western side of the
oceanic gyres. This strengthening of the western side of the gyre, the so-called western intensification, is one of the important issues in the circulation
of the oceans. Theoretical explanations are based upon the balance of vorticity. Examples of boundary currents are the Gulf Stream along the east coast of
N. America and the Kuroshio along the coast of Japan. These currents are
associated with a sharp transition between relatively light, warm, and saline
water in the east and relatively heavy, cold, and less saline water in the west.
Because of dynamic instability these currents form meanders that may even
become detached from the main current and drift around as isolated large
eddies.
boundary layer in a fluid that flows along a boundary a layer develops in which
the flow pattern is determined by the transport of momentum between the
flow and the boundary. The current in this layer differs in speed and/or
direction from that outside this layer, and boundary layers are therefore characterized by current shear. In these layers turbulence is generated that is not
only effective in the transport of momentum, but also causes transport of
other physical and chemical properties between the boundary and the undisturbed fluid.
Boussinesq approximation approximation of the hydrodynamical equations, attributed to Boussinesq (1903), ~ocean dynamics.
box corer (syn. Kastengreifer), type of corer that retrieves relatively undisturbed
surface sediment samples in a box. The boxes have a variable length and surface. Upon retraction of the box out of the sediment, a spade is rotated over
the snout in such a way as to make a tight seal. ~bottom samplers.