Ocean Surface Currents (slides 1 & 2)
Streamlike movements of water that occur at or near the surface of the ocean are called
Surface Currents
In Finding Nemo they are riding the
East Australian Current
If Earth's surface were covered only with water, currents would travel in a ____ pattern across the Earth
fixed
Deep currents are _________ movements
stream-like
Waves are made of two main components
crest and trough
The Gulf Stream transports ___ times more water than all of the rivers in the world.
25
The east Australian current flows across the
the East coast of Australia
When currents meet landforms they
change direction
Temperature and _______ affect the density of ocean water.
salinity
A ____ is the highest point
Crest
Surface currents can reach depths of several hundred meters and lengths of several _______ __________
thousand kilometers
Speeds in the core of the EAC are up to
4.5mph
Warm water currents begin near the
equator
Deep currents are not controlled by these two things
wind, Coriolis effect
A _____ is the lowest point of a wave.
Trough
The rotation of the Earth causes surface currents to ____ __ _____ ____
move in curved paths
The East Australian Current transports a staggering 40 million cubic meters of water southward each
second
Surface currents greatly affect the
climate
Ocean water gets denser when it becomes
saltier
Waves move in a ______ pattern.
Circular
about 100km wide
Some surface currents warm and some cool coastal areas year-round. This causes changes in the
atmosphere
Less-dense water always flows on top of
Denser water
Mechanical waves are waves that require a ______.
Medium