Oceanography

Oceanography

The scientific studies of the ocean.

Industry: Earth science

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Oceanography

Bay-mouth bar

Earth science; Oceanography

A narrow deposit of sand and/or gravel found across the mouth of a bay.

Advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR)

Earth science; Oceanography

A five-channel scanning instrument that quantitatively measures electromagnetic radiation, flown on NOAA environmental satellites. AVHRR remotely determines cloud cover and surface temperature. ...

Potential vorticity

Earth science; Oceanography

A materially conserved quantity in adiabatic, frictionless flow that accounts for changes of vorticity due to vortex line stretching and Coriolis effects. In the shallow water approximation, the ...

Coriolis force

Earth science; Oceanography

An apparent force arising from the fact that Earth turns on its axis. It is an apparent force that makes sense only because Earth is a noninertial frame of reference. Earth's spinning creates a ...

1. The transition region between the turbulent surface layer and the normally nonturbulent free atmosphere. This region is about 1 km thick and is characterised by a well-developed mixing generated ...

Barrier beach

Earth science; Oceanography

A long and narrow beach of sand and/or gravel that runs parallel to the coastline and is not submerged by the tide.

Drainage basin

Earth science; Oceanography

A land area where precipitation runs off into streams, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. It is a land feature that can be identified by tracing a line along the highest elevations between two areas on ...