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Bell Ringer Answers 9-28-10. The climate will likely be cool and dry. Deep currents form when dense ocean water near the poles sinks and flows slowly along the ocean floor toward the equator.
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Bell Ringer Answers 9-28-10 • The climate will likely be cool and dry. • Deep currents form when dense ocean water near the poles sinks and flows slowly along the ocean floor toward the equator. • Wind causes surface currents, but differences in water density cause deep currents. Surface currents move water relative quickly. Deep currents move more slowly along the ocean bottom. • Upwelling occurs when wind blows surface water away from a coast and cold water rises from the ocean depths. • Upwelling brings up nutrients from the ocean depths.
Bell Ringer Answers 9-29-10 • Scientists use indirect methods to study the ocean floor because the darkness, coldness, and high pressure of very deep water pose problems for human survival. • A seamount is an undersea mountain whose peak never breaks the ocean surface. • The strength of the wind and length of time and distance over which the wind blows all influence the size of a wave. • As a wave approaches the shore, its bottom begins to make contact with the sloping ocean floor. The friction that results slows down the wave and changes its shape.
Bell Ringer Answers 9-30-10 • A rip current forms when water trapped behind a sandbar rushes away from the shore through a narrow opening. • There are two high tides a day in most places because, as Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours, each place on Earth passes through a tidal bulge two times. • A spring tide has the largest difference between high and low tide. It occurs twice a month, when the sun, Earth, and moon are all aligned. A neap tide has the smallest difference between high and low tide. It occurs when the sun, Earth, and moon form a right angle.
Bell Ringer Answers 10-1-10 • Salinity increases the density and lowers the freezing point of ocean water. • The Coriolis effect is apparent deflection of winds and currents caused by Earth’s rotation. In the Northern Hemisphere, it causes currents to curve to the right. • El Nino is an unusual climate event that occurs every two to seven years in the Pacific Ocean. It can have many effects, such as preventing the upwelling of nutrients off the western coast of South America and causing shifts in weather patterns around the world. • Upwelling occurs when wind blows warm water from the surface of the ocean, allowing cold water to rise up to replace it. Upwelling brings tiny organisms, minerals, and nutrients from the deeper water, and this attracts large numbers of fish.