Ocean Current Notes 2nd quarter

1. What factors cause ocean currents? Wind, gravity, and variations in water density

2. What kinds of ocean currents are there? surface currents, and deep circulation3. What is a Gyre and how many big ones are in the world’s oceans? A gyre is a well organized circular flow within surface currents, there are 5 big gyres4. What is the most important cause of surface currents? Wind causes friction on the top of the water these currents slow down with depth and only affect the top few 100 meters. Gravity also affects surface current.

Ocean Currents: questions go with video: http://www.montereyinstitute.org/noaa/lesson08.html

5. What is the Coriolis effect?The earth’s surface rotates faster at the equator then the poles. winds and gravity start water moving the currents move at an angle to the force that generates them. 6. How do the continents affect currents? The current turns when it runs into a continent. 7. What kind of ocean currents are temporary? Longshore, rip and upwelling currents8. What is the continuous deep water currents called? The global conveyer belt. 9. What causes thermohaline circulation? Differences in temperature and salty10. What is the temperature and salt content of polar water? Cold and very salty, therefore dense

• http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1323675 4 minute article Ducks in Ocean npr robert siegel speaks with oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer

• http://www.npr.org/2011/03/29/134923863/moby-duck-when-28-800-bath-toys-are-lost-at-sea 32 min radio story Moby Duck book review

• http://www.schooltube.com/video/945c3a7d2010a9c05ff4/GMA%20-%20The%20Great%20Pacific%20Garbage%20Patch

• School tube great pacific garbage patch abc news approx 5 min

Rubber ducks in ocean

• 1. a. Ocean Current: any continuous flow along a broad path in an ocean• B. The general circulation pattern north of the equator is clockwise and in the southern hemisphere

it is counter clock wise. • C. With in the ocean basin the warm current are found on the western side.• D The cool currents are found on the eastern side• 2. a The trade winds affect the part near the equator• B. The currents caused by the trade winds are called The north and south equatorial currents.• C. The westerlies affect the polar current circles.• D. The currents caused by the westerlies are called the West Wind Drifts. • 3. A. Warm currents: The Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic Drift, The north Equatorial Drift• B. The gulf stream bring warmer water north and warms the climate of land passes.• C. Sargasso Sea is an area of warm water in the North Atlantic

Earth Science book work pg 347

• 4 a. The gulf stream rings form from eddies and whirlpools that break away from the main current.

• B. Locate and describe cold core rings, these are on the Sargasso side.• C. Warm core rings are on the continent side• 5. a. Cold currents flow to toward equator• B. the Laborador current flows flows from the Baffin Bay along the Canadian coast off Nova Scota• C.

• 6. a. Counter currents flow the opposite directions from wind currents. • B. Equatorial counter currents flow between the north and south equatorial currents. • C. Cromwell currents is in the Pacific ocean flowing beneath the south equatorial current.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOrVotzBNto 2 min http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OApAaAvDc3g 6 minhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOrVotzBNto 10 min

StreaM Flow Lab

NASA perpetual ocean you tube video 3 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCmTY0PKGDs&feature=youtu.be

• NSTA interactive ocean and wind circulation: • http://

oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/pd/oceans_weather_climate/media/ocean_and_wind_currents.swf

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-N_7cgwHmQ finding Nemo the EAC

• http://bcs.whfreeman.com/thelifewire/content/chp58/5803s.swf Heat transfer

Ocean gyres

Coriolis Effect

Define Coriolis: Use text book on table http://www.youtue.com/watch?v=mcPs_OdQOYU 2 minhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeY9tY9vKgs 6 min conservation of angular momentumhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2mec3vgeaI Global winds (tie into convection and coriolis)review latitude and longitude http://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=215.51,54.70,272 moving animation of earth with winds

1. Which way does the Earth Spin? How do you know?• Spins from east to west because the sun rises in the east and sets in the west

2. Spin the earth the correct direction and view it from the north axis. In the northern hemisphere the earth spins _____________________________________. Hold the spinning earth over your head. In the southern hemisphere the earth spins ________________________.

3. Locate an place near the equator _______Locate a place near the north pole. _____. If a plane takes off from the southern location and flies in a straight line north while the planet continues to spin where will it land?

4. The path of objects in the northern hemisphere are deflected to right so ocean circulation is clockwise. In the southern hemisphere objects are defected to the left.

Rotating planet

• Ocean gyres (Plastic ocean)http://vimeo.com/25563376 3 min albatross midway island

• http://vimeo.com/6889248 2 min• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxNqz

AHGXvs plastics in the oceans 7 min phyto plankton

• 19 year old cleaning up the Pacific plastic: http://inhabitat.com/19-year-old-student-develops-ocean-cleanup-array-that-could-remove-7250000-tons-of-plastic-from-the-worlds-oceans/

• Cosmetic microbeads: http://5gyres.org/posts/2014/06/19/breaking_news_federal_legislation_to_ban_plastic_microbeads_in_cosmetics_introduced/

Humans pollute ocean water