Ocean Surface Currents (Slides 1 & 2)
Streamlike movements of water that occur at or near the surface of the ocean are called ________.
Surface Currents
The East Australian Current transports a staggering __ million cubic metres of water southward each second.
40
Surface currents greatly affect the _____ in many parts of the world.
Climate
What are stream-like movements of ocean water far below the ocean surface?
Deep currents
____ are made of two main components - crests and troughs.
Waves
Surface currents flow like rivers in ________ around the Earth.
Distinct Patterns
The current is almost ___ km wide, and more than 1.5 km deep – in fact, more like a ribbon than a tube.
100
How often do some surface currents warm and some cool coastal areas?
Year-round
Are deep currents controlled by wind or the Coriolis effect?
No
A ______ is the distance between two adjusts crests or troughs.
Wavelength
Surface currents are controlled by what four
factors?
global winds, the Coriolis effect,
continental deflections, and the water
temperature.
The East Australian Current is not the
_______ warp-tube
Fast-Flowing
Do surface currents affect the climate in many parts of the word?
yes
Deep currents are mainly controlled by increases in ____.
Water density
________ is the vertical distance between a waves crest and its trough.
Wave height
The Gulf Stream, which is one of the
longest surface currents, transports __
times more water than all of the rivers in
the world and flows from Florida to Iceland!
25
The East Australian Current does flow along
the ______ of Australia,
East Coast
What is it called when currents meet landforms, they change direction?
Continental Deflections
____-dense water always flows on top of denser water.
Less
Why do ocean waves form?
because of friction between the wind and the surface of the water.
Global winds blowing across the Earth’s surface create ___________.
Surface Currents
_____ in the core of the EAC are
among the strongest in the South Pacific, up
to 4.5 mph an hour.
Speeds
what causes changes in the atmosphere that disrupt the climate in many parts of the world?
When some surface currents warm and some cool coastal areas year-round.
_____ water moves along the ocean floor and eventually travels toward the equator in the form of a deep current.
Denser
A wave is defined as a transfer of _____.
Energy