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Ocean Currents
Currents locations and information
Question | Answer |
---|---|
What directions are winds in the 5-30 degrees south latitude? | Southeast, remember they are named for where they originate |
Going from the North pole to the equator name the atmospheric convection cells in order | polar, ferell, hadley |
Going from the North pole to the equator name the winds you would expect to see | Polar easterlies, Westerlies, trade winds |
At what degrees of latitude do you see the duldroms? | equator |
At what degrees of latitude do you see the horse latitudes? | 30 degrees |
What is the eastern boundary current of the Norht pacific gyre? | California current |
What is the western boundary current of the North Atlantic gyre? | Gulf stream |
What is the warm water current of the North Pacific gyre | Kuroshio current (western boundary) |
What is the warm water current of the south atlantic gyre? | brazil curent (western boundary) |
What four currents make up the North atlantic gyre? | Gulf stream, north atlantic drift, Canaries current, and the north equatorial in order |
Name five warm water currents | Agulhas, Alaska, brazil, east australian, equitorial, gulf stream, kuroshio, north atlantic drift, north pacific drift, |
Name five cool water currents | benguela, california, canaries, humboldt (peru), labrador, oyashio (kamchatka), west australian, west wind drift (ACC) |
What are the four characteristics of western boundary currents | fast-moving, narrow, warm, and deep |
What are the four characteristics of eastern boundary currents? | slow-moving, broad, cool, and shallow |
Which direction does water flow in the northern hemisphere in comparison to the wind? | 90 degrees right |
Which direction does water flow in the southern hemisphered in comparision to the wind? | 90 degrees left |
What two forces are in balance for geostrophic balance | coriolis pushing water to center of gyre and gravity pushing it down the hump |
What three factors affect the direction of the surface currents? | wind (uneven solar heating), continents/land masses, and geostrophic balance. |
Which direction would water move in the Southern hemsiphere where there are westerlies? | to the northeast as the winds are northwesterly (made in the NW) |
Which direction would the water move in the Northern hemisphere where the trade winds are blowing? | Northwest as the winds are made in the Northeast |
What is another name for the Humboldt current? | Peru current |
What kind of weather is associated with eastern boundary currents? | dry cool coastal climate |
At what latitudes to you see the air rising leading to more precipitation? | equator and polar front (60 degrees latitude N and S) |
What happens to air masses at 30 degrees? | They fall as they are cooled and have lost their moisture. (DESERTS ARE HERE) |
What is the convection cell at 45 degrees south? | Ferell cell |
What current is the only one to entirley circumnavigate the Earth? | Anarctic circumpolar Current |
What type of fish are born in fresh water but l live most of their lives in ocean water? | Anadromous |
What is the large sea on the western side of the North Atlantic gyre? | Sargasso sea |
How long do most plastics take to degrade? | over 100 years |
What are the three forces that are moving currents in gyres? | gravity from hill of water, coriolis from spinning, continents |
What is the curving of water due to the spinning of the earth called? | coriolis effect |
What is the movement of water 90 degrees to the right of the wind in the N. Hemisphere called? | Ekman transport |
If a wind in a northerly wind in the Southern hemisphere, which direction is the net transport of water? | (northerly wind comes from north), so it is south of the wind meaning it is going EAST |
How are winds named using directions? | from where they are coming from. |
How is a current direction described? | By where it is heading to |
What are the two types of upwelling? | coastal and equatorial |
What is the main positive from upwelling? | nutrients come from bottom of the ocean |
What is the deep water circulation often referred to as the global conveyer belt? | thermohaline circulation |
What force is equalizing coriolis and continental contact for gyres to form the geostrophic balance? | Gravity of the hill of water |
What is the phenomenon that occurs when water all converges on one spot in the ocean? | downwelling: water is pushed down |
What are the small circulation loops that spin off western boundary currents like the gulf stream? | eddies |
What is Davy Jones' locker? | A middle layer of water where as ocean increases in depth the density increases so bodies or other objects that sink at the surface get trapped and can't sink any deeper. |