Content-type: |
text/plain; format=flowed; charset=us-ascii |
Sender: |
|
Subject: |
|
From: |
|
Date: |
Thu, 22 Jan 2004 21:03:02 +1300 |
In-Reply-To: |
<001601c3e029$d08b7ff0$7a146dd8@ARindsberg1> |
MIME-version: |
1.0 |
Reply-To: |
|
Parts/Attachments: |
|
|
>It's my understanding that the southern ocean really is a separate
>body of water,
>basically a southern gyre that circulates around the pole and keeps
>to itself to a great degree.
>
>> But where do you draw logical boundaries for the "Antarctic Ocean"? This
>so-called entity is really arbitrary, and technically speaking there is no
>such ocean, merely the south Pacific, Atlantic & Indian.
>
>Well, but if you define an ocean as a body of water, not a basin filled with
>water, then the 'Southern' or 'Antarctic Ocean' is a body of water that
>encircles Antarctica and consists of very cold water that is slightly
>saltier than the rest of the world ocean, because part of the water is
>removed by freezing while most of the salt remains dissolved.
That is a good way of defining this ocean element without resorting
to geography.
>Its surface is
>also considerably richer in oxygen than the world ocean because cold water
>can dissolve more oxygen than warm water, and the whole mass of water tends
>to descend because salty water is relatively heavy -- carrying that nice
>oxygen down to help keep the abyss sweet.* All of which give the water a
>distinctive 'Southern Ocean' biota.
Also means the Southern Ocean includes much of the bottom layers of
the other main oceans as far north as at least the equator. ;-}
>But as a New Zealand scholar you know
>this already, eh! Just checking to see if the rest of us know, eh?
Yes, but I HAD forgotten! It's good to have one's memory jogged from
time to time.
--
Andrew Grebneff
Dunedin, New Zealand
64 (3) 473-8863
<[log in to unmask]>
Fossil preparator
Seashell, Macintosh & VW/Toyota van nut
________________________________
I want your sinistral gastropods!
________________________________
Opinions in this e-mail are my own, not those of my institution
_______________________________________________
A: Because it reverses the logical flow of conversation.
Q: Why is top posting frowned upon?
|
|
|