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What’s current with the ocean?

What’s current with the ocean?. Catch my drift?. Currents move water from place to place. There are 2 kinds of currents…. First kind of current:. Surface currents : move on or near surface of ocean Friction between wind blown air and the water surface causes the water to move

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What’s current with the ocean?

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  1. What’s current with the ocean? Catch my drift?

  2. Currents move water from place to place

  3. There are 2 kinds of currents…

  4. First kind of current: • Surface currents: move on or near surface of ocean • Friction between wind blown air and the water surface causes the water to move • Controlled by wind belts, earth’s rotational effect and location of continents

  5. What direction do most currents NORTH of the equator move?

  6. CLOCKWISE!

  7. What direction do most currents SOUTH of the equator move?

  8. COUNTERCLOCKWISE!

  9. Western side of ocean has warm currents traveling from equator • Eastern side of ocean has cool currents moving toward equator

  10. Examples of warm water currents: • Gulf Stream • Brazil Examples of cold water currents: • California current • Canary current

  11. Upwelling • the rise of cold water from deeper layers to replace warmer surface water. • brings greater concentrations of dissolved nutrients, such as nitrates and phosphates, to the ocean surface.

  12. Second kind of current: 2. Deep density currents: cold, dense currents that flow very slowly beneath surface of ocean • occurs when denser seawater moves towards an area of less dense seawater

  13. In the deep ocean, denser water around the Poles sinks and travels along the ocean floor toward the equator. • At the same time, less dense water at the equator rises and moves towards the poles along the surface. • These two events form a continuous cycle that circulate ocean water.

  14. Waves Kelly Slater

  15. Wave Generating forces • WIND • TIDES • Sometimes Earthquakes

  16. Wavelength • Distance from one crest to another

  17. Wave Height • Difference between crest to trough

  18. Period: • The time it takes one wavelength to pass a given point

  19. Formula Speed= wavelength period

  20. Test your knowledge… What is the speed of a wave 24 meters long with a period of 4 seconds?

  21. Applying the formula Speed = 24 meters= 6 meters/sec 4 sec

  22. Height of wind-formed waves depends on 3 things… • Length of time the wind blows • Speed of wind • FETCH: length of open water over which the wind blows in a single direction

  23. Swells • Group of long, rolling waves all about the same size • Come at regular intervals

  24. As waves approach shore, the water is so shallow that they touch bottom. This happens at a depth of one-half the wavelength. As the wave scrapes bottom, the lower part of wave slows down and upper par moves ahead. The crest falls over and breaks onto the beach.

  25. Breaking Waves

  26. MAVERICKS

  27. Waves and the shore: • Breakers – foamy mass of water that washes onto shore • Undertow • Long shore current • Tsunamis • Rip current – strong surface currents that flow away from the beach; hazard to swimmers

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