Intro to Ocean Currents
What is a current?
How long does a current last? Gulf Stream Eddy Current 3 causes of currents Gyre Surface+Deep Circulation Coriolis Effect+ Topography (land) Longshore Currents Rip Currents Upwelling Currents Global Conveyor Belt Thermohaline |
A body of water moving a specific direction.
A stream that can take a thousand years to move. Smaller currents that only last a few months. Currents are caused by wind, gravity and density. Gyres are found in tropical areas; wind-driven currents and the Coriolis effect affect the gyres. Driven by wind and driven by density. an inertial force described by the 19th-century French engineer-mathematician Gustave-Gaspard Coriolis in 1835. Coriolis showed that, if the ordinary Newtonian laws of motion of bodies are to be used in a rotating frame of reference, an inertial force--acting to the right of the direction of body motion for counterclockwise rotation of the reference frame or to the left for clockwise rotation--must be included in the equations of motion Currents that come in at an angle pushing the water toward shore . Currents that happen when surface wind pushes the surface water north, causing the cold water to go up on shore. When deep water is pulled up as surface water moves away from land. Deep current travel causing the ocean to move around Thermohaline is heat and salt |
Summary: Why are currents important?
Currents are important because without it, there would be no waves or tides. The ocean would be still.
Currents are important because without it, there would be no waves or tides. The ocean would be still.