Water currents Flashcards
Where does upwelling occur?
Along coastlines.
What is upwelling?
The movement of deep, cold, nutrient-rich water brought up to the surface.
Why is upwelling important?
Because it brings nutrient-rich water to the surface which sustains life.
What happens when surface currents meet?
They are deflected (change paths)
What is a gyre?
A circular system of currents in the Earth’s major oceans.
Gulf stream
Warm, strong current off the coast of Florida.
Ocean currents move energy in the form of?
Heat
Where do the ocean’s warm water currents originate from and where do they travel?
- Equator 2. The poles
What causes surface currents north and south of the equator to move in different directions?
The rotation of the earth.
What heats the earth’s oceans?
The sun
True or False?
Near the equator, the winds blow ocean water east to west?
True!
winds blow ocean water west to east near the poles
What is the Coriolis effect?
The apparent curving of moving objects from a straight path due to the earth’s rotation.
What three factors work together to form a pattern of surface currents on earth.
- Global winds
- Coriolis effect
- Continental deflections
Surface currents always move water in which directions?
Horizontally
Ocean currents have an effect on what two things?
- Climate
2. Weather
