Question | Answer |
Surface Current | horizontal movement of ocean water caused by wind near the surface |
Deep Current | Stream like movement of ocean water far below the surface |
Trade winds | Located just north and south of the equator 0 degrees and 30 degrees latitude. |
westerlies | located 30 degrees and 60 degrees latitude. |
Coriolis effect | curving of the path of a moving object from an otherwise straight path, due to Earth's rotation |
Gyre | Huge circle of moving ocean water found above and below the equator. |
Sargasso Sea | Center of North Atlantic Gyre. Area of calm, warm water. Named after Sargassum, a type of seaweed, that floats on water. |
Antarctic Circumpolar Current | A.K.A. west wind drift. Cold current; surface current. |
Equatorial Countercurrent | weak, eastward flowing, warm and surface current |
Gulf Stream | Warm surface current that is fast moving and flows up the East Coast of U.S. |
North Atlantic current | Follows from Gulf Stream. Warm surface current. |
Antarctic bottom water | cold, deep, slow, moves northward on the bottom of Antarctic Ocean |
Salinity | Measure of the amount of dissolved salts in a given amount of liquid. Measured in parts per thousand. ppt= 0/00 |
Thermocline | layer in a body of water in which water temperature drops within increased depth faster than it does in other layers. |
Pack Ice | floating layer of sea ice that completely covers an area of the ocean surface. |
Density | the ratio of the mass of a substance to the volume of the substance. Measured in g/cm^3 (solids) over g/mL (liquids) |
3 main dissolved gases found in ocean water | N2- nitrogen, O2- oxygen, CO2- carbon dioxide |
4 main ways that gases can enter the ocean water. | Atmosphere contributes most. Streams/rivers, underwater volcanoes, marine organisms |
relationship between water temperature and amount of dissolved gases it contains | Cold water contains more dissolved gases. |
relationship between the temperature and density of ocean water | cold water is more dense |
2 factors that change the salinity of ocean water | precipitation and evaporation |