Physical oceanography

Physical oceanography

The scientific study of the physical conditions and processes related to the motions and physical properties of ocean currents and waters.

Industry: Earth science

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Physical oceanography

Systemes d’Informations Scientifiques pour la Mer or (SISMER)

Earth science; Physical oceanography

In translation, the French National Oceanographic Data Center. See the SISMER Web site149.

Daily retardation

Earth science; Physical oceanography

In tidal studies, the amount of time by which a tidal phase lags the previous day's corresponding phase. These lags average about 50 minutes.

Fossil turbulence

Earth science; Physical oceanography

In the ocean, temperature microstructure that remains after the turbulence that presumably created it decays, i.e. there is no velocity microstructure.

Strong opposing flow elements adjacent to western boundary currents, e.g. the Gulf Stream in the upper ocean and the deep western boundary current in the deep water of the North Atlantic. These are a ...

Reynolds stresses

Earth science; Physical oceanography

Stress terms obtained by transforming the equations of motion into the Reynolds equations. They are so–called in analogy to the terms in the original motion equations involving the molecular ...

Louisiana–Texas Experiment (LATEX)

Earth science; Physical oceanography

Sponsored by the MMS of the Department of the Interior. LATEX was a six–year project with the principal objective of identifying the key dynamical processes governing the circulation, transport, and ...

Sound fixing and ranging floats (SOFAR)

Earth science; Physical oceanography

Subsurface floats used since the mid 1970s that freely drift at prescribed pressures. These provide direct measurements of the ocean circulation by sending acoustic pulses, typically at 300 MHz, once ...