Purpose:

To describe and interpret the depth distribution of the ocean temperature.

Average Annual Sea Surface Temperature

The data to describe:

The image with data above is from Global Ocean Data Viewer. It is the annual climatology of the temperature, which represents the ocean temperature averaged over many years.

The task:

Your job is to write a short scientific discussion of the depth dependence of the temperature data shown in the figure above and to develop a model explaining this data. 

Describe: First, describe the salient features of the depth data. Be brief, but don't miss important features.  Look at the most obvious temperature variations. Feel free to mark on the figure. When you write down your observations, use data values and locations to illustrate your statements. Be as quantitative as possible. Since latitude and longitude are not marked on the plot, you can estimate, or annotate the plot to indicate geographical locations.

Interpret: Explain the process that you think is controlling the temperature at depth. You should begin your description by mentioning the main phenomena that affect the temperature of the ocean at depth.

Write your description here:

 

 

Write your "theory" here:

 

Write your interpretation here (use additional paper if necessary):