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falco_iii t1_is1rtsf wrote

Reply to comment by [deleted] in Does the salinity of ocean water increase as depth increases? by rhinotomus

I recall learning that there is a huge "river" of super cold but pretty fresh water that travels along the bottom of the ocean from Antarctica to the equator. Is that accurate & what is that called?

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alligatorislater t1_is2ja13 wrote

There is relatively cold and deep water current called Antarctic bottom water (AABW) that travels up along the western edge of the south Atlantic from Antarctica, but it is very salty, as when seawater freezes into ice it ‘salts out’ increasing the salinity of the remaining seawater. It is also relatively oxygen rich, which isn’t the norm for deep waters. This water mass is one of the densest there is, which is why it creeps along the bottom.

There is also the Antarctic intermediate water (AAIW), which is not very salty, and it is formed from Ekman transport processes around Antarctica (…and it’s formation seems to still be a big point of research)

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