1 / 15

Oceans

Oceans. Surface Currents. Wind Creation.

ddierks
Download Presentation

Oceans

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Oceans Surface Currents

  2. Wind Creation • The sun heats the Earth’s atmosphere unevenly, creating very warm, low-pressure areas around the equator, and cool, high pressure areas toward the poles. As the warm low pressure air moves to cooler high pressure areas, wind is created. Uninterrupted, wind patterns would run in straight lines from pole to pole.

  3. What are surface currents? • Surface currents are horizontal, streamline movements of water that occur at or near the surface of the ocean. • Surface currents can reach depths of several hundred meters and lengths of several thousand kilometers, and can travel across oceans.

  4. Surface current formation • As wind blows across the ocean, it drags water along with it creating strong currents. Because the wind’s reach is limited, these surface currents only run about 200 meters (656 feet) deep. • Short lived winds create temporary surface currents. Constant winds create more permanent currents that flow strongly on a fixed course.

  5. What controls surface currents? 1. Global Winds 2. Coriolis Effect 3. Continental Deflection

  6. What factors contribute to surface current formation? 1. Global Winds- winds that blow across the Earth’s surface create surface currents. They act as a heat transfer system. Global winds are due to the unequal heating of earths surface.

  7. 2.The Coriolis Effect – the apparent curving of moving objects from a straight path due to the Earth’s rotation. Because of the Earth’s rotation wind is forced right or left, depending on the hemisphere it is in.

  8. 3. Continental Deflection – when surface currents meet a continent it deflects the movement of the current. The Gulf Stream deflects off the coast of North America and flows across the ocean to the British Isles. As a result, the British Isles have a milder climate than Canada.

  9. Why are some surface currents cold and others are warm? Warm water surface currents originate in the tropics and flow north and south from the equator. As the water moves farther north it cools and sinks. The colder water on the surface then moves north or south from the poles and warms as it gets closer to the tropics.

  10. Map of Surface Currents

  11. California current along the coast of California is a cold water current, causing cooler water temperatures.

  12. The Gulf Stream is a warm water current that flows along the gulf and Florida, causing warmer water temperatures.

  13. Gulf Stream current.

  14. Surface currents gently warm or cool the coastal areas year round. Some surface currents change their circulation pattern causing changes in the atmosphere that affect the climate in many parts of the world. • Warm water currents create warmer climates in coastal areas. Cold water current brings cooler climates into areas.

  15. He should tell her that the Earth’s rotation doesn’t cause wind, it causes wind to curve. Wind’s made by the uneven heating of Earth’s surface by the sun. The uneven heating causes differences in air pressure. The difference air pressures cause warm and cool air. While warm air rises it cools off and starts to sink. The cooler air starts to warm up and starts to rise. That causes a circular movement of air called convection. The air moving in convection cells is what really causes wind.

More Related