Ocean Surface Currents
Streamlike movements of water that occur at or near the surface of the ocean
What are surface currents?
the strongest in the South Pacific, up to 4.5 mph an hour.
What are the speeds of the East Australian Current?
currents begin near the equator and carry warm water to other parts of the ocean.
Where do warm water currents begin?
stream-like movements of ocean water far below the ocean surface.
made of two main components - crests and troughs.
What are waves made of?
one of the longest surface currents, which transports 25 times more water than all of the rivers in the world
What is the Gulf Stream?
This current flows along the east coast of Australia
What is the East Australian Current?
currents begin closer to the poles and carry cool water to other parts of the ocean.
Where do cold water currents begin?
affect the density of ocean water
What do temperature and salinity do?
is the distance between two adjust crests or troughs.
What is the wavelength?
blows across the earth's creating surface currents
What are Global Winds?
almost 100 km wide, and more than 1.5 km deep – in fact, more like a ribbon than a tube.
What are the measurements of the Australian Current?
When currents meet landforms, they change direction.
What is a continental deflection?
chills the water molecules at the surface, causing them to move closer together.
What are cold air chills?
is the vertical distance between a wave's crest and its trough.
What is wave height?
currents in the Northern Hemisphere turn clockwise while currents in the Southern Hemisphere turn counterclockwise.
What is the Coriolis Effect?
flows southward from the Great Barrier Reef.
Where does the East Australian coast flow?
greatly affect the climate in many parts of the world
What do surface currents do?
moves along the ocean floor and eventually travels toward the equator in the form of a deep current.
What does dense water do?
are waves that require a medium.
What are medium waves?
These are the four controlled factors to surface currents
What are global winds, the Coriolis effect, continental deflections, and water temperature controlled by?
That is the equivalent of 16,000 Olympic swimming pools flowing along our coastline
How far does the EAC transport every second?
changes in the atmosphere that disrupt the climate in many parts of the world.
What do surface currents cause?
always flows on top of denser water.
Where does less dense water flow?
form because of friction between the wind and the surface of the water
How do ocean waves form?