The effect the spinning earth has on water and wind currents.

 The earth is spinning all the time as it moves through space.  The earth’s spinning makes the water in the oceans and the air we breathe move.  The movements of the larger air and water currents can be mapped.  At certain times of the year, winds can cause a great deal of rain.  The winds that cause this rain are called monsoons.

 Earth spins.  As the earth turns, the side pointed toward away from the sun has daylight.  The side of the earth pointed away from the sun has nighttime.  It takes 24 hours for the earth to spin around once, which is why there are 24 hours in a day.  One complete spin of the earth is called a rotation.

 The earth is tilted as it faces the sun.  The earth is warmer at the equator and cooler at the poles because of the angle at which the sun’s ray meet the earth’s surface.  There is almost a direct hit at the equator.

 A large part of the earth is covered with water.  As the waters of the oceans move, they strike land.  This causes them to move around the land and along the shorelines of the continents.  Moving through the ocean water are currents.  Currents are like rivers in the ocean.  Ocean currents can be mapped/

 The spinning of the earth affects the waters of the ocean.  Spinning jar.  The earth’s spinning affects the oceans’ waters just as the water in the spinning jar was affected.  Water in the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere move in different directions due to the Coriolis force.

 Ocean currents have different temperatures.  Water at the Poles are cold, and water at the equator is warm.  Ocean currents from the Poles are cold, and at the equator are warm.

 The air that surrounds the earth is also affected by the spinning of the earth.  The Coriolis force affects winds just as it does water.  Wind belts that move one way in the Northern Hemisphere move the other way in the Southern Hemisphere.  The winds are also affected by the season of the year.  Some winds blow one way during the summer and the other way during the winter.  These are called seasonal winds.

 Monsoon winds bring heavy rains. It brings water from the equator.  Farmers count on these regular heavy rains to help their crops.  In Bombay, India, there is no rain from November to March, but from June until September there is an average of 88 inches of rainfall.

 There are 5 factors.  1. Ocean Currents (what we just went over)  2. Nearness to water (NYC vs Omaha Nebraska)  3. Latitude ( Close to equator vs Far from the equator)  4. Altitude ( Height of the land; elevation; mountains vs plains)  5. Winds and Mountains (Winds source (warm waters vs cold waters, winds blowing from the land vs winds that carry moisture with them) winds over mountains)