Ocean Circulation Winds and Currents

The __________________ and the ___________________ interact The ocean and atmosphere transport heat from the ______________________________ _____________________________ Winds create daily, ________________ weather changes, while the oceans have a slower, more ________________________ effect on climate

Currents move much more slowly than winds and retain more heat than the atmosphere While winds affect ocean currents, oceans also influence the winds, helping to determine their _________________________________

Current Patterns

Global Wind Patterns Winds are caused by __________________ heating and cooling of the atmosphere.

At this animated image you can see the seasonal variations of wind over the World Ocean averaged during several decades of observations

Warm, humid air rises at the equator and moves towards the poles, where it cools. The cold, dry air sinks (some moves towards the equator forming __________________, and some moves towards the poles forming ________________________) resulting in a circulation pattern of _________________________________.

The prevailing winds blow _______________ in the Northern Hemisphere and _______________________________ in the Southern Hemisphere.

The equatorial region is known as the _____________________________: hot moist air rises and cools resulting in thunder clouds. The world’s rain forests are here.

30° N and S are known as the ____________________________, where cold, dry air sinks toward Earth’s surface. The world’s great desert regions are found here. 60° N and S is where the cold, dry air is flowing south, warming and rising, forming Easterly winds. The poles are actually cold deserts.

Global Current Patterns Current:_____________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ There are two types: – Surface Currents – Deep Currents

Surface currents: – _________of currents and are mostly wind driven – __________________________ water movement – Follow pattern of prevailing winds – Usually in the top ____________ m of water Even though the currents are all connected, we give them different names based on where they are

Surface Current Pattern

Deep currents: – density driven (depend exclusively on salinity and temperature) – mainly ____________________ water movement – ___________of all currents – called thermohaline circulation

Deep Currents

Unique Currents Equatorial Countercurrent (Cromwell Current): – Lies between the North and South Equatorial Currents – It is several hundred meters wide – It flows in the _______________________ direction from the currents next to it and we do not have a reason/explanation for this

Antarctic Current (West Wind Drift): – It’s the world’s largest current – It could fill the Great Lakes in ______ days

Gulf Stream: – Can reach depths of over __________ m – Can move at a rate of 2 m/s = ~160 km/day which makes it the ________________ surface current – It is ~__________ km wide – Goes from Florida to NFLD