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Water 5
6th Grade Science: Unit 4 - Currents
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is a current? | A current is a large stream of moving water that flows through the oceans |
| Describe currents. | Currents carry water great distances unlike waves Some currents move water at the surface of the ocean, while other currents move the deep water |
| Who is Thor Heyerdahl? | In the 1940s, Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl theorized that Polynesians sailed from Peru powered by wind and ocean currents. For 97 days, his crew traveled approximately 4,300 kilometers |
| What influences currents? | Currents are influenced by weather, Earth’s rotation, and position of the continents. |
| What are surface currents? | horizontal, stream-like movements of water that occur at or near the surface of the ocean, with a depth of several hundred meters and several thousand kilometers long. |
| What is the largest ocean current stream? | Powerpoint said Gulf Stream was the largest in the world The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is one of the longest ocean currents It transports significantly more water than all the rivers in the world combined, sometimes estimated to be 25 times greater. |
| What is the warmest and most powerful surface current in the north Atlantic Ocean? How is it caused? And how big is it? | The Gulf Stream Current It is caused by by strong winds from the west. It is 30 km wide, 300 m deep, and carries 100 times greater than the Mississippi River. It carries warm water from the Gulf of Mexico to the Caribbean sea, then northward along the coast of the United States. Then turns eastward across the Atlantic at Cape Hatteras, N.C. |
| Surface currents are controlled by what 3 factors? | 1 - global wind patterns 2 - the Coriolis effect 3 - the shape of the continental coastlines |
| What are global winds? | Winds that blow across the Earth’s surface create surface currents in the ocean. Different wind patterns cause currents to flow differently. |
| How do global winds move differently in the northern vs. southern hemisphere? | In the Northern Hemisphere, the currents move to the right (wax on), while in the Southern Hemisphere, the currents move to the left (wax off), due to the Coriolis effect. |
| How do global winds move in the ocean basins? | Global Winds move in circular patterns in the five major ocean basins. They flow east or west and double back to complete a circle |
| What is the Coriolis Effect? | Earth’s rotation causes wind and surface currents to move in curved paths rather than in straight lines |
| What is continental deflection? | If there was no land, surface currents would flow in an organized global pattern |
| What happens when surface currents meet continents? | the currents deflect or change direction |
| How are currents affected by the temperature of the water in which they form? | Warm-water currents begin near the equator and carry warm water to other parts of the ocean, while cold water currents begin closer to the poles and carry cool water to other parts of the ocean. |
| What are deep currents? | Deep currents are stream-like movements of ocean water located far below the surface. |
| Where do deep current form? | They form where water density increases |
| What is density? What affects density of deep currents? | Density is the amount of matter in a given space or volume. The density is affected by salinity and temperature |
| How does speed and the Coriolis Effect affect deep currents? | Deep ocean currents are very slow, dense currents that flow along the ocean floor, and are affected by the Coriolis effect which causes them to curve. |
| Do deep ocean currents move more or less water than surface currents? | More water |
| How long does it take to for deep ocean currents to move round trip from the pole to the equator and back? | thousands of years |
| What is an upwelling? | The upward movement of cold water from the ocean depths As the winds blow away the warm surface water, cold water rises to replace it |
| How are upwellings beneficial to the environment? | Upwellings bring up tiny organisms, minerals & nutrients from the deep layers of the water. These feed schools of fish |
Created by:
Engle Family
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