One-minute science popularization | Searching for the mystery of the sinking of the Titanic, which iceberg was the culprit?

What are ocean currents?

Ocean currents, also known as ocean currents, are large-scale, relatively stable flows of water masses with different densities formed by thermal radiation, evaporation, precipitation, contraction, etc., coupled with the effects of wind stress, Coriolis force, tidal force, etc. It is one of the common forms of movement of seawater .

The mechanism of ocean current system

Wind is the main driving force of ocean currents , and the earth's deflection force, the distribution of land and sea, and the undulations of the seabed also have varying degrees of influence.

For example, the Coriolis force causes ocean currents to deviate to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere; continental barriers make it impossible for any ocean current to flow around the earth, and protruding parts of islands or continents can cause ocean currents to branch.

Ocean current type

According to their causes , ocean currents can be divided into three categories: friction currents, gravity-pressure gradient currents and tidal currents.

Ocean currents can also be divided into warm currents and cold currents according to the temperature of the flowing seawater (the temperature of the ocean current itself and the surrounding seawater). Warm currents are warmer than the water temperature in the sea area they flow through, while cold currents are cooler than the water temperature in the sea area they flow through.

There are two methods to describe the movement of seawater: the Lagrangian method and the Euler method . The former is to track water particles to describe their temporal and spatial changes. This method is difficult to implement, but in modern times, drift bottles and neutral floats are used to track flow traces, which can approximately understand the law of flow changes.

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Searching for the mystery of the sinking of the Titanic

Which iceberg is the culprit?