Currents Surface Currents –About 10% of the ocean’s water is in surface currents, water flowing horizontally in the uppermost 400 m Driven mostly by wind.

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Presentation transcript:

Currents Surface Currents –About 10% of the ocean’s water is in surface currents, water flowing horizontally in the uppermost 400 m Driven mostly by wind friction Most wind energy comes from the trade winds (easterlies) and westerlies

Gyres Water flows clockwise around the N. Atlantic –This results in an Ekman Spiral –This causes a build up of water in the center of the ocean, Hill of water about 2 m higher than the rest of the ocean. This hill is maintained by wind energy, friction with the surrounding continents, and the coriolis effect. Geostrophic Gyres Gyres in balance between the pressure gradient and the Coriolis effect are called geostrophic gyres (Geo=earth; strophe= turning), and their currents are called geostrophic currents.

Currents in Gyres Western Boundary Currents –Located on the gyre’s western end –Ex: Gulf Stream (G.S.), Kuroshio, Brazil, Agulhas, East Australian Eastern Boundary Currents –Located on gyre’s Eastern Boundary Currents –Ex: Canary Current, Benguela Current, California current, West Australian Current, Humboldt or Peru current Transverse Currents –These are currents that connect the E.B.C.’s and W.B.C.’s –The N. and S. Equatorial Currents in the Talantic and Pacific are formed by the push of the trade winds. Countercurrents and Undercurrents –Equitorial Currents are usually accompanied by countercurrents flowing on the surface in opposite direction of the main flow. –Countercurrents also exist beneath surface currents, undercurrents, they are 100 to 200 m below the surface and can carry as much water as the surface currents.

Upwelling Upwelling: process by which deep, cold, nutrient-rich water is brought from depths to the surface Coastal Upwelling: the movement of surface water away from a coast line causes deeper water to be brought up in order to replace it. This deeper water is colder, because it is farther from the sun.

El Niño During an El Niño the trade winds weaken, stop all together, or even reverse direction. –Causes that pile of warm water in the Western Pacific to slosh back along the equator until it hits the South America The presence of that warm water creates a cap on the water column and effectively shuts down upwelling.

Thermohaline Circulation Thermohaline (thermo=temperature, haline=salt) circulation is the movement of water due to its density –Responsible for the majority of non-surface water movement in the oceans, both vertical and horizontal