Currents microsite.smithsonianmag.com -

Currents Gulf Stream http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuGrBhK2c7U http://gpb.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/ess05.sci.ess.watcyc.gulfstream/what-causes-the-gulf-stream/ Just Music, but good because shows Gulf Stream and the cold current sinking below. 30 seconds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDX5_ti3tcg microsite.smithsonianmag.com -

Currents microsite.smithsonianmag.com -This photo was taken over the meeting point of the Baltic and North seas, near the Northernmost point of Denmark – Skagen. Thanks for the information Cüneyt Nalçacı

Finding Nemo…. And the East Australian Current EAC in Finding Nemo (East Australian current) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-N_7cgwHmQ Exit EAC- Finding Nemo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nof2FYyIeVg

Map of Currents http://gaicharisma.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/australian20currents20with20acc.jpg

Map of Currents http://thegreatreef.weebly.com/climate.html

What Causes Surface Currents to Move? What force causes surface currents? How do surface currents affect climate on land? What force cause deep currents? What is El Niño?

They can move water and objects across the ocean. What is a current? Currents are large streams of moving water that flow through the oceans. They can move water and objects across the ocean.

Map of Currents

What causes currents? currents are caused by wind, the Earth's rotation, and differences in water density within oceans.

What causes surface currents? Winds are responsible for some ocean currents. A surface current is an ocean current that moves along the top part of an ocean. Surface currents are moved by prevailing winds and follow global wind patterns. Prevailing winds are winds that blow in regular directions almost all the time.

What determines the direction of surface currents? These winds and surface currents move in circular patterns in ocean basins. Surface currents affect water to a depth of several hundred meters. Coriolis effect- the effect of Earth’s rotation on the direction of winds and currents. Coriolis effect causes winds and currents to move in a curved path.

The Coriolis Effect

Current Temperatures Surface currents can be cold or warm. Those that flow from the poles toward the equator are cold. Those that flow from the equator towards the poles are warm.

How Surface Currents Affect Climate A surface current warms or cools the air above it, influencing the climate of the land near the coast. Currents affect climate by moving cold and warm water around the globe. Climate is the pattern of temperature and precipitation typical of an area over a long period of time.

Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream is a warm current that flows northward up the east coast of the United States toward Great Britain and western Europe. This current causes the climate in Great Britain and western Europe to be warmer than other places at the same latitude.

Gulf Stream sailmatthias.blogspot.com

California Current The California current is a surface current that carries cold water from the North Pole, southward along California’s coast. This current causes the climate in California to be cooler than it would be without the current.

What are deep ocean currents? Deep currents are caused by differences in density rather than surface winds. Density depends on temperature and salinity. The more salty and cold ocean water is the denser it is. More dense water drops to the bottom of the ocean and separates from less dense water, and that movement creates a current

Deep Currents Cold waters at the bottom of the ocean creep slowly across the ocean floor. Deep currents move and mix water around the world. They move much slower than surface currents.

Upwelling Upwelling is the upward movement of cold water from the ocean depths. As wind blows away the warm surface water, cold water rises to replace it. Upwelling brings up tiny ocean organisms, minerals, and other nutrients from the deeper layers of the water.

El Niño El Niño- an abnormal climate event that occurs every 2 to 7 years in the Pacific Ocean. This causes a sheet of warm water to move eastward toward the South American coast. El Niño can last for one to two years before the usual winds and currents return. This damage in Southern California was the result of excessive rain caused by El Niño in 1997

El Niño Video of Regular Conditions, El Nino conditions, and El Nina conditions: http://esminfo.prenhall.com/science/geoanimations/animations/26_NinoNina.html