Oceanography

Oceanography

The scientific studies of the ocean.

Industry: Earth science

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Oceanography

red tide

Earth science; Oceanography

A growth of dinoflagellates (single-celled plant-like animals) in surface waters in such quantities as to color the sea red and kill fish.

surface gravity wave

Earth science; Oceanography

A wave that propagates, typically, on the surface of water under the influence of buoyancy forces. In water of uniform depth H, the dispersion relationship is given by squared frequency \omega^2 ...

thermocline

Earth science; Oceanography

A vertical temperature gradient in some layer of a body of water, which is appreciably greater than the gradients above and below it; also a layer in which such a gradient occurs. = The ...

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

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 ...

stratus clouds

Earth science; Oceanography

A principal cloud genus characterized by a gray later having a relatively uniform base; often occurring in the form of ragged patches or fragments (stratus fractus) and usually composed of fairly ...