Which way do the prevailing winds push in the Northern hemisphere?
Clockwise
What is a giant circular pattern of moving water?
A gyre
What happens to the air temperature in Christchurch during El Nino years?
It gets cooler
Energy from the sun transfers to the then to the air.
Surface
How often does El Nino happen?
Approximately 2 to 7 years.
What is a prevailing wind?
Strong enough to push ocean currents and generally go in the same direction.
Ocean currents carry around the world.
Energy
What are three things that effect the air temperature?
Latitude, altitude, and ocean currents.
What happens when the ocean current temperature is cooler than the air temperature?
The air transfers energy to the ocean.
What does El Nino do?
It changes climate patterns.
If a prevailing wind changes direction, the direction of the will also change.
Ocean current.
The _____ ______ and the positions of ____ determine the ocean currents path.
Prevailing winds, land(continents)
What happens when the ocean current comes from one of the poles?
the current carries less energy and brings cooler-than-expected water.
What causes prevailing winds to move?
The rotation of the Earth
Why is the air temperature near the equator warmer than the air temperature near the poles?
The earth is tilted on an axis so the equator receives more energy from the sun.
Places of the same latitude can have different temperatures because
Ocean currents that pass by the places can be coming from different places such as the equator or the polar region.