Viscosity
Learning Objective:
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Define viscosity, and recognize the other properties of seawater that
control it.
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Viscosity is resistance to flow. Seawater is slightly more viscous than
freshwater, and the level of resistance is controlled by its temperature
and salinity. Viscosity increases when salinity
increases or the water temperature decreases. However, the effect of decreasing
temperature is greater than that of increasing salinity. The resistance rate is
not uniform; it increases as the temperature
decreases. Because of the effect of
temperature on viscosity, an incompressible object might sink at a faster rate
in warm surface water than in colder subsurface water. For most compressible
objects, viscosity effects may be more than offset (controbilanciati) by
the compressibility of the object. In reality this is a very simple explanation
to a complex problem, since the actual relationships existing in the ocean are
considerably more complicated than portrayed here.
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