Editing Sverdrup (section)

{{Other uses}}
{{Short description|Unit of measurement}}
{{Infobox unit
| name         = Sverdrup
| image        = Labrador Current.jpg
| caption      = 
| standard     = 
| quantity     = [[Volumetric flow rate]]
| symbol       = Sv
| symbol2      = 
| namedafter   = 
| extralabel   = 
| extradata    = 
| units1       = {{val||u=m3|up=s}}
| inunits1     = 1 million
| units2 = US gallons/s
| inunits2 = 264 million 
| units3 = {{val||u=cuft|up=s}}
| inunits3 = 35 million
}}
In [[oceanography]], the '''sverdrup''' (symbol: '''Sv''') is a non-[[International System of Units|SI]] [[Metric_units#Volume_flow_rate|metric unit]] of [[volumetric flow rate]], with {{val|1|u=Sv}} equal to {{convert|1|e6m3/s|cuft/s|0}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/glossary.html#S |title=Glossary |website=Ocean Surface Currents |publisher=[[University of Miami]] [[Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science]] |access-date=2019-04-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ecoworld.com/technology/sverdrups-brine.html |title=Sverdrups & Brine |website=Ecoworld |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110120155822/http://www.ecoworld.com/technology/sverdrups-brine.html |archive-date=20 January 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=12 August 2017 }}</ref> It is equivalent to the SI derived unit cubic [[hectometer]] per second (symbol: hm<sup>3</sup>/s or hm<sup>3</sup>⋅s<sup>−1</sup>): {{val|1|u=Sv}} is equal to {{val|1|u=hm<sup>3</sup>/s}}. It is used almost exclusively in [[oceanography]] to measure the volumetric rate of transport of [[ocean current]]s. It is named after [[Harald Sverdrup (oceanographer)|Harald Sverdrup]].  

One sverdrup is about five times what is carried at the estuary by the world's largest river, the Amazon. In the context of [[ocean current]]s, a volume of one million cubic meters may be imagined as a "slice" of ocean with dimensions {{val|1|ul=km}} × {{val|1|u=km}} × {{val|1|u=m}} (width × length × thickness) or a cube with dimensions {{val|100|u=m}} × {{val|100|u=m}} × {{val|100|u=m}}. At this scale, these units can be more easily compared in terms of width of the current (several km), depth (hundreds of meters), and current speed (as [[velocity|meters per second]]). Thus, a hypothetical current {{val|50|u=km}} wide, {{val|500|u=m}} ({{val|0.5|u=k}}m) deep, and moving at {{val|2|u=m/s}} would be transporting {{val|50|u=Sv}} of water.

The sverdrup is distinct from the SI [[sievert]] unit or the non-SI [[svedberg]] unit. All three use the same symbol, but they are not related.