Oceanography

Introduction

Physical properties of sea water

Many of the processes that occur in the oceans depend on the physical properties of sea water. The conduction of heat, absorption of light, transmission of sound, formation of waves, tides, ice, currents and water masses are some of the important physical features of ocean water. Sea water contains pure water as well as salts, dissolved gases, organic substances and undissolved suspended particles. The presence of salts and other substances in sea water greatly influence the various characteristics of sea water. Hence, an understanding of the physical properties of sea water is necessary to study the various processes that occur in the ocean. The forces that cause circulation of water in the ocean arise from changes in the physical properties of that water.

Physical properies like temperature and salinity directly affect the density, buoyancy and stability of seawater and consequently the motion of water in the ocean basins. The physical properties of seawater also strongly influences the behaviour of heat and light in the ocean.

The unit of physical  oceanography deals with the following chapters

1. Salinity and chlorinity

2. Temperature of seawater

3. thermal properties of seawater

4. Colligative and other properties of seawater

5. Residence time of constituents in seawater

6.Properites of sa ice

7.Transmission of sound

8.absorbtion of radiation

9.Eddy conductivity

9.Duffyusivity and viscosity

10.General distribution of temperature,salinity and density

11.salinity and temperature of suface layer and sub surface layer (SST)

12.Distribution of temperature and salinity, TS diagram

13.water mass of indian ocean salinity and chlorinity