Density Currents
What 2 things cause density currents?
Salt and Temperature
What drives the surface currents?
Wind
What is salinity?
Measure of dissolved salts and minerals in water
What is a gyre?
Large circulating pattern of surface currents
Where do warm currents flow from?
The Equator
What kind of water will sink?
Cold and Salty
What kind of current is on the East Coast of continents?
Warm
What sea has very high salinity?
The Dead Sea
What does most of the trash in our oceans consist of?
Plastics
What causes the Coriolis Effect?
Earth's Rotation
What does thermohaline mean?
Temperature and salt
What kind of current is on the West Coast of continents?
Cold
Why is salinity so high in The Dead Sea?
Evaporation and land locked
Why is plastic so difficult to break down?
It photodegrades not biodegrade
Where does most trash/plastics come from that ends up in our oceans?
Landfills
What is upwelling?
When cold nutrient rich water rises up to the surface
What is the name of our local warm current?
The Gulf Stream
What is salinity measured in?
PPT Parts per thousand
What food is Garbage Patch Island compared to?
Plastic Soup
What way do currents bend in the Northern Hemisphere?
Clockwise or Right
What is the density current called that is near Antartica?
Antratic Bottom Water
What causes surface currents to bend?
The Coriolis Effect
What is average salinity?
35 ppt
What gyre is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch a part of?
North Pacific Gyre
What dangerous chemical is found in plastics and on receipt paper?
BPA