OCEAN CURRENTS AND CLIMATES

WHAT ARE OCEAN CURRENTS?

• An ocean current is a directed movement of ocean water that flows in one of the Earth's oceans. The currents are generated from the forces acting upon the water like the earth's rotation, the wind, the temperature and salinity differences and the gravitation of the moon. The depth contours, the shoreline and other currents influence the current's direction and strength. Ocean currents can flow for thousands of kilometers.

WHAT IS OCEANIC CLIMATE?

• An oceanic climate (also called marine west coast climate and maritime climate) is the climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of all the world's continents, and in southeastern Australia.

HOW DO OCEAN CURRENTS AND CLIMATE WORK TOGETHER?

• They work together to move heat and fresh water across the globe. Wind-driven and ocean-current circulations move warm water toward the poles and colder water toward the equator. The ocean can store much more heat than the land surfaces on the Earth. The majority of the thermal energy at the Earth’s surface is stored in the ocean. Thus, the absorption and movement of energy on the Earth is related to the ocean-atmosphere system

WHAT FORCES ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR TIDAL CURRENTS TO OCCUR?

• Gravitational interaction
• Coastal topography
• Tidal currents are primarily driven by the gravitational interaction of the sun, moon, and Earth. They are also influenced by coastal topography. Tidal currents are the only type of currents that change regularly and can be easily predicted.

HOW MANY OCEAN CURRENTS ARE THERE?

If you guessed 2 - YOU ARE RIGHT!

• Surface currents
• Deep water currents
• Main difference; surface currents make up 90% of the oceans water.
• Whereas deep ocean currents sink into the deep ocean basins at high latitudes where the temperatures are cold enough to cause the density to increase.

WHERE CAN OCEAN CURRENTS BE FOUND?

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DO CURRENTS AFFECT TIDES?

• Yes
• Tides and currents occur naturally.
• Tides are caused by the gravitational attraction of the Sun and the Moon, and vary in different locations due to the influence of the shape of coastlines.

WHAT IS THE GLOBAL CONVEYER BELT?

• Ocean currents act much like a conveyer belt, transporting warm water and precipitation from the equator toward the poles and cold water from the poles back to the tropics. Thus, currents regulate global climate, helping to counteract the uneven distribution of solar radiation reaching Earth’s surface.

FAST FACT

Fact:
the global ocean conveyor belt is a constantly moving system of deep-ocean circulation driven by temperature and salinity. The great ocean conveyor moves water around the globe. The ocean is not a still body of water.

PICTURE TIME

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