Perpetual Ocean: This dreamy image is a screen shot of an animation created by NASA which shows how
Perpetual Ocean: This dreamy image is a screen shot of an animation created by NASA which shows how the ocean currents swirling around the planet between June 2005 and December 2007. The model was created using observational data including sea height measurements made by satellites. In addition, satellite information pertaining to ocean temperature, gravitational pull and wind stress were included. Data from floating instrumentation called “Argo” which measures salinity and temperature was also included. The eddylike currents that show up throughout the illustration are the result of the Coriolis Effect. The Earth’s rotation deflects the motion of water (or air) that would otherwise be traveling in a straight line, and this effect produces circular currents. These simulations are great to catch the attention of the non-scientific community, or inspire future scientists, but that is not their main function. Rather, these models are used to display numerical data spatially; making the data easier to visualise and comprehend. For example, Dimitris Menemenlis, a satellite oceanographer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory; uses the ocean current models to study how currents affect the melting of ice covering the Arctic Ocean, Antarctica and Greenland, as well as how quickly the ocean absorbs increasing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. -Jean To see the animation go here: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/perpetual-ocean.html -- source link
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