Question

Strong trade winds also cause the warm surface waters to pile up in the western tropical Pacific so that the sea surface in the western Pacific is somewhat higher than in the eastern Pacific. Transport of surface waters to the west also causes the thermocline (the transition zone between warm surface water and cold deep water shown by the blue layer in the ocean side view) to be ________ in the eastern tropical Pacific than in the western Pacific.

a) Deeper
b) Shallower
c) Warmer
d) Cooler

Answer 1

The strong trade winds cause the thermocline to be (b) shallower in the eastern tropical Pacific compared to the western Pacific.

Step-by-step explanation:

The strong trade winds in the tropical Pacific Ocean create significant differences in the thermocline between the eastern and western parts of the ocean. Due to the piling up of warm surface waters in the western tropical Pacific caused by these winds, the thermocline in the eastern tropical Pacific becomes shallower compared to the western Pacific.

This is because the transport of surface waters toward the west intensifies the slope of the thermocline, causing it to dip deeper in the west and rise closer to the surface in the east, thereby making it shallower in the eastern tropical Pacific.