Deep ocean water

Deep ocean water (DOW) is the name for cold, salty water found deep below the surface of Earth's oceans. Ocean water differs in temperature and salinity. Warm surface water is generally saltier than the cooler deep or polar waters;^[1] in polar regions, the upper layers of ocean water are cold and fresh.^[2] Deep ocean water makes up about 90% of the volume of the oceans. Deep ocean water has a very low temperature, typically from 0-3 °C (32-38 °F), and a salinity of about 3.5% or as oceanographers state as 35 ppt (parts per thousand).^[3]

In specialized locations such as the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii NELHA ocean water is pumped to the surface from approximately 900 metres (3000 feet) deep for applications in research, commercial and pre-commercial activities. DOW is typically used to describe ocean water at sub-thermal depths sufficient to provide a measurable difference in water temperature.

When deep ocean water is brought to the surface, it can be used for a variety of things. Its most useful property is its temperature. At the surface of the Earth, most water and air is well above 3 °C. The difference in temperature is indicative of a difference in energy. Where there is an energy gradient, skillful application of science and engineering can harness that energy for productive use by humans. Assuming the source of deep ocean water is environmentally friendly and replenished by natural mechanisms, it forms a more innovative basis for cleaner energy than current fossil-fuel-derived energy.

The simplest use of cold water is for air conditioning: using the cold water itself to cool air saves the energy that would be used by the compressors for traditional refrigeration. Another use could be to replace expensive desalination plants. When cold water passes through a pipe surrounded by humid air, condensation results. The condensate is pure water, suitable for humans to drink or for crop irrigation. Finally, via a technology called Ocean thermal energy conversion, the temperature difference can be turned into electricity.

References

↑ "Ocean Stratification". The Climate System. Columbia Univ. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
↑ "The Hidden Meltdown of Greenland". Nasa Science/Science News. NASA. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
↑ "Temperature of Ocean Water". UCAR. Retrieved 2012-09-05.

Physical oceanography

Waves	Airy wave theory Ballantine scale Benjamin–Feir instability Boussinesq approximation Breaking wave Clapotis Cnoidal wave Cross sea Dispersion Edge wave Equatorial waves Fetch Gravity wave Infragravity wave Internal wave Kelvin wave Kinematic wave Longshore drift Luke's variational principle Mild-slope equation Radiation stress Rogue wave Rossby wave Rossby-gravity waves Sea state Seiche Significant wave height Sneaker wave Soliton Stokes boundary layer Stokes drift Stokes wave Swell Trochoidal wave Tsunami megatsunami Undertow Ursell number Wave action Wave base Wave height Wave power Wave radar Wave setup Wave shoaling Wave turbulence Wave–current interaction Waves and shallow water one-dimensional Saint-Venant equation shallow water equations Wind wave model

Circulation	Atmospheric circulation Baroclinity Boundary current Coriolis effect Downwelling Eddy Ekman layer Ekman spiral Ekman transport El Niño Southern Oscillation General Circulation Model Geostrophic current Global Ocean Data Analysis Project Gulf Stream Halothermal circulation Humboldt Current Hydrothermal circulation Langmuir circulation Longshore drift Loop Current Maelstrom Modular ocean model Ocean dynamics Ocean gyre Princeton ocean model Rip current Subsurface currents Sverdrup balance Thermohaline circulation shutdown Upwelling Whirlpool World Ocean Circulation Experiment

Tides	Amphidromic point Earth tide Head of tide Internal tide Lunitidal interval Perigean spring tide Rip tide Rule of twelfths Slack water Tidal bore Tidal force Tidal power Tidal race Tidal range Tidal resonance Tide gauge Tideline

Landforms	Abyssal fan Abyssal plain Atoll Bathymetric chart Coastal geography Cold seep Continental margin Continental rise Continental shelf Contourite Guyot Hydrography Oceanic basin Oceanic plateau Oceanic trench Passive margin Seabed Seamount Submarine canyon

Plate tectonics	Convergent boundary Divergent boundary Fracture zone Hydrothermal vent Marine geology Mid-ocean ridge Mohorovičić discontinuity Vine–Matthews–Morley hypothesis Oceanic crust Outer trench swell Ridge push Seafloor spreading Slab pull Slab suction Slab window Subduction Transform fault Volcanic arc

Ocean zones	Benthic Deep ocean water Deep sea Littoral Mesopelagic Oceanic Pelagic Photic Surf

Sea level	Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis Future sea level Global Sea Level Observing System North West Shelf Operational Oceanographic System Ocean Surface Topography Mission Sea-level curve Sea level rise World Geodetic System

Acoustics	Deep scattering layer Hydroacoustics Ocean acoustic tomography Sofar bomb SOFAR channel Underwater acoustics

Related	Argo Benthic lander Color of water DSV Alvin Marginal sea Marine energy Marine pollution Mooring National Oceanographic Data Center Ocean Ocean exploration Ocean observations Ocean reanalysis Ocean surface topography Ocean thermal energy conversion Oceanography Pelagic sediment Sea surface microlayer Sea surface temperature Seawater Science On a Sphere Thermocline Underwater glider Water column World Ocean Atlas

Category Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, February 22, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.

Deep ocean water

References

See also