All Topics  
Sverdrup

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Sverdrup
 
 
  Topics Sverdrup Topic Home

The sverdrup, named in honour of the pioneering oceanographer Harald Sverdrup
Harald Sverdrup

Harald Ulrik Sverdrup was a Norway oceanography and meteorology who made a number of important theoretical discoveries in these fields. Having first worked in Bergen, Norway and Leipzig he was involved in the North Pole expedition of Roald Amundsen between 1917 and 1925, before taking the chair in meteorology at Bergen, where his primary in...
, is a unit of measure
Unit of measure

Unit of measure may refer to:* Units of measurement for relevance to weights and measures.* Unit of account for relevance in economics....
 of volume
Volume

The volume of any solid, liquid, plasma, vacuum or theoretical object is how much three-dimensional space it occupies, often quantified numerically....
 transport. It is used almost exclusively in oceanography
Oceanography

Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean. It covers a wide range of topics, including marine organisms and ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor; and fluxes of various chemi...
, to measure the transport of ocean current
Ocean current

An ocean current is continuous, directed movement of ocean water. The currents are generated from the forces acting upon the water like the Earth's rotation, the wind, the temperature, salinity differences and the tide....
s. Its symbol is Sv. Note that the sverdrup is not an SI
Si

Si, si, or SI may refer to :...
 unit, and that its symbol conflicts with the sievert
Sievert

The sievert is the SI derived unit of equivalent dose. It attempts to reflect the biological effects of radiation as opposed to the physical aspects, which are characterised by the absorbed dose, measured in Gray ....
's. It is equivalent to 106 cubic meters per second (0.001 km³/s, or about 264 million U.S. gallons per second).

Recent studies suggest that the water transport in the Gulf Stream
Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Current, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic Ocean ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico, exits through the Straits of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland and Labrador before crossing the At...
 steadily increases from 30 Sv in the Florida Current
Florida Current

The Florida Current is a thermal ocean current that flows generally from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. The current was discovered by Spain explorer Ponce de Leon in 1513....
 to a maximum of 150 Sv at 55°W longitude
Longitude

Longitude , symbolized by the Greek character lambda , is the geographic coordinate most commonly used in cartography and global navigation for east-west measurement....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Sverdrup'
Start a new discussion about 'Sverdrup'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The sverdrup, named in honour of the pioneering oceanographer Harald Sverdrup
Harald Sverdrup

Harald Ulrik Sverdrup was a Norway oceanography and meteorology who made a number of important theoretical discoveries in these fields. Having first worked in Bergen, Norway and Leipzig he was involved in the North Pole expedition of Roald Amundsen between 1917 and 1925, before taking the chair in meteorology at Bergen, where his primary in...
, is a unit of measure
Unit of measure

Unit of measure may refer to:* Units of measurement for relevance to weights and measures.* Unit of account for relevance in economics....
 of volume
Volume

The volume of any solid, liquid, plasma, vacuum or theoretical object is how much three-dimensional space it occupies, often quantified numerically....
 transport. It is used almost exclusively in oceanography
Oceanography

Oceanography , also called oceanology or marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean. It covers a wide range of topics, including marine organisms and ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor; and fluxes of various chemi...
, to measure the transport of ocean current
Ocean current

An ocean current is continuous, directed movement of ocean water. The currents are generated from the forces acting upon the water like the Earth's rotation, the wind, the temperature, salinity differences and the tide....
s. Its symbol is Sv. Note that the sverdrup is not an SI
Si

Si, si, or SI may refer to :...
 unit, and that its symbol conflicts with the sievert
Sievert

The sievert is the SI derived unit of equivalent dose. It attempts to reflect the biological effects of radiation as opposed to the physical aspects, which are characterised by the absorbed dose, measured in Gray ....
's. It is equivalent to 106 cubic meters per second (0.001 km³/s, or about 264 million U.S. gallons per second).

Recent studies suggest that the water transport in the Gulf Stream
Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Current, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic Ocean ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico, exits through the Straits of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland and Labrador before crossing the At...
 steadily increases from 30 Sv in the Florida Current
Florida Current

The Florida Current is a thermal ocean current that flows generally from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. The current was discovered by Spain explorer Ponce de Leon in 1513....
 to a maximum of 150 Sv at 55°W longitude
Longitude

Longitude , symbolized by the Greek character lambda , is the geographic coordinate most commonly used in cartography and global navigation for east-west measurement....
. The entire global input of fresh water from rivers to the ocean is equal to about 1 sverdrup.

The heat carried within this large volume is partially responsible for the mild climate of north-western Europe (atmospheric heat transport is the other cause of Europe's relatively mild climate; it accounts for roughly half of the effect).

To put these numbers in further perspective, the average bathtub
Bathtub

A bath , bathtub , or tub is a plumbing fixture used for bathing. Most modern bathtubs are made of acrylic glass or fiberglass, but alternatives are available in Vitreous enamel over steel or cast iron, and occasionally wood....
 holds about 180 liters (0.180 m3, 50 U.S. gal). So 1 sverdrup has a flow of about 6 million bathtubs per second and the Gulf Stream
Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Current, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic Ocean ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico, exits through the Straits of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland and Labrador before crossing the At...
's maximum flow is close to 1000 million bathtubs per second.