The ocean component of the global water cycle

Raymond W. Schmitt

Department of Physical Oceangraphy, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

• Fundamentals of the Ocean Water Cycle
  • Introduction
  • Description
  • Meridional Fluxes
  • Interbasin Transports
• Application to Ocean Dynamics
  • Barotropic Response: The Goldsbrough-Stommel Circulation
  • Baroclinic Response: The Thermohaline Circulation and Climate Models
• Implementation of an Observational System
  • Development of climatologies
  • Atmospheric Water Flux Divergence
  • Numerical Weather Prediction Models
  • Satellite Detection of Precipitation
  • In-Situ Rain Measurements
  • Salinity
  • Ocean Flux Divergence
• Conclusions
• References