4.6 The temperature of seawater at different depths and latitudes. Just as the atmosphere may be div

Jaqueline Kirby

Jaqueline Kirby

Answered question

2022-06-17

4.6 The temperature of seawater at different depths and latitudes. Just as the atmosphere may be divided into layers characterized by how the temperature changes as altitude increases, he oceans may be divided into zones characterized by how the temperature changes as depth increases. We shall divide the oceans into three zones: the surface zone comprises the water at depths between 0 m and 200 m; the thermocline comprises the water at depths between 200 m and 1000 m; and the deep zone comprises water at depths exceeding 1000 m.
We shall assume that temperature is unaffected by longitude.
We shall assume that at all latitudes, temperature is a continuous function of depth. Informally, this means that you can sketch the graph of temperature versus depth (at a particular latitude and longitude) without lifting your pencil from thepage.
We shall assume that the wind and waves serve to mix water in the surface zone so effectively that the temperatureremains constant with depth. it does change with latitude, though, as the temperature in the surface zone is greatly affected by solar radiation [4]. We shall assume that the summer temperature in the surface zone is a linear function of latitude. Further, we shall assume that the summer temperature in the surface zone is 2 °C at the poles, and 24 °C at the equator.
We shall also assume that, because solar energy never makes it to the deepest water, the temperature remains constant with depth in the deep zone. In fact, we shall assume that water in the deep zone, no matter the latitude, remains at 2 °C throughout the year.
Since water in the surface zone can be warm, water in the deep zone is always cold, and the temperature at a given latitude is a continuous function of depth, the temperature must change with depth throughout the thermocline. We shall assume that, at each latitude and longitude, temperature is a linear function of depth in this zone.
Context: University coding assignment
So far from this information, I've managed to develop two models:
For the surface zone, I have T ( l ) = 11 45 l + 24 and for the deep zone, I have T(l)=2 where T is the summer temperature in degrees Celsius and l is the latitude in degrees (where 0 is the equator and 90 are the poles).
I'm having trouble interpreting this information to develop a linear model for the summer temperature of the seawater (T) at the thermocline zone. I know this model will differ from the last two as it will be a function of depth (rather than latitude), but the lack of data is really throwing me.
Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Answer & Explanation

britspears523jp

britspears523jp

Beginner2022-06-18Added 28 answers

The temperature in the thermocline zone, T, is a function of the surface temperature, T s , the temperature of the depth zone, i.e. 2, and the depth at which the temperature is calculated, d , 200 d 1000. Since T here varies linearly with d, we have
T 2 d 1000 = T s 2 200 1000
We get
T ( d , l ) = 2 + ( 1000 d ) ( 22 11 45 l ) 800

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