1. Ocean Currents and Climate
What causes surface currents?
What causes deep currents?

2. What Causes surface currents?
Surface currents follow Earth’s global wind patterns
Surface currents are driven by wind
Global winds are causes by different amounts of solar energy that strikes different parts of the Earth
So, the sun also provides the energy that drives the surface currents

3. The Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream is the largest and most powerful surface current in the North Atlantic Ocean
The Gulf Stream moves warm water from the Gulf of Mexico into the Caribbean Sea, then continues northward along the east coast of the US

4. El Nino
El Nino is a climate event that happens every two to seven years in the Pacific Ocean
El Nino is the “lazy little brother” – causing an unusual heating of the waters off the coast of Central America in the Pacific
Causes especially warm winters in the southern US, and heavy rain, flooding and mudslides in CA

5. La Nina
The “Angry Big Sister” is mother natures way of balancing out the build-up of energy in Central America
Stronger global winds blow across the Pacific Ocean causing cold water to come up and take the place of the warm ocean water
This means more hurricanes forming in the Atlantic Ocean

6. What causes Deep Ocean Currents?
Deep ocean currents are caused by differences in the density of ocean water
As the temperatures of the water near the poles decreases and its salinity increases, the water becomes denser and sinks
The cold dense water flows back along the ocean floor as a deep current
The Global Ocean Conveyor is responsible for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and supplying Oxygen to deep water ocean life

7. Weather Maps

8. Weather Maps

9. Weather Maps

10. Weather maps