It is bordered by Venezuela, Colombia and Panama to the south, Central American countries (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize) on the west; with the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico) on the north and the Lesser Antilles on the east. The Caribbean Sea is the source of the Gulf Stream, with this tropically warmed current reaching right across the Atlantic. provide an annual economic value to Caribbean nations of $3.1–$4.6 billion. CoastWatch/OceanWatch produces 0.25-degree longitude/latitude Level-3 gridded sea-surface salinity (SSS) daily and 3-day mean datasets by box averaging European Space Agency (ESA) Soil Moisture – Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission’s Microwave Imaging Radiometer with Aperture Synthesis (MIRAS) satellite observations over the global ocean. Global Evaporation - Precipitation. That makes this point one of the lowest points on the surface of the Earth, and the Caribbean Sea is the deepest sea (excluding oceans) in the world. Salinity levels can affect the movement of ocean currents. They can also affect marine life, which may need to … The Caribbean has fewer hurricanes than either the western Pacific (where these storms are called typhoons) or the Gulf of Mexico. Above this water, the subtropical undercurrent and surface water enter. The average salinity of the oceans is 35 g of salt per litre of water, but there are significant regional variations in this value, as shown in Figure 18.13. The Caribbean is the setting for countless literary efforts often related to piracy acts and swashbuckling. Coral reefs fringe most of the islands. It runs 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. In the tropical waters of the Caribbean Sea the average temperature is 27°C (81°F) and it varies no more than 3°C. The Caribbean Sea has the world’s second largest barrier reef, the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef. Following the discovery of the islands by Columbus, the area was quickly colonised by several Western The island of Jamaica is home to seals and manatees. Near the equator, there is heavy rainfall, high relative humidity, cloudiness and calm air of the doldrums. There typically is a halocline Seawater has an average of 35 parts of dissolved salt per thousand parts of water, or 35 ppt. The Caribbean Sea is famous around the world as a tourist destination. The average water temperature is around 27°C (80°F) and varies as little as 3°C (37°F) throughout the year. The islands, which vary greatly in size, cover some 91,000 square mi (235,688 square km). Piracy in the Caribbean was widespread during the early colonial era, especially between 1640 and 1680. Such storms also have been a major cause of crop failure in the region. Clay minerals appear to have been washed down by the Amazon and Orinoco rivers, as well as by the Magdalena River in Colombia. 3. Chloride is a major component of dissolved solids. These waters are then forced by the trade winds through the narrow Yucatán Channel into the Gulf of Mexico. The Caribbean Sea is home to the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef - the second largest barrier reef in the world. The water of the Caribbean is warm, clear and has lower salinity levels than the neighbouring Atlantic. The shallow sill depths of the Antillean arc block the entry of Antarctic bottom water, so that the bottom temperature of the Caribbean Sea is close to 39 °F (4 °C), as compared with the Atlantic bottom temperature of less than 36 °F (2 °C). The sediment beds tend to arch in the middle of the basins and to dip as landmasses are approached. Forces producing the Panamanian isthmus and the Antillean arc were vertical, resulting in no ultimate horizontal movement. 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