Module 10 - Ocean Circulation
The Ekman spiral is similar to an eddy in that the water spirals downward like a whirlpool
False
The Pacific's Equatorial Currents are driven eastward by westerly winds and flow faster than the westward flowing currents driven by the trades.
False
The densest water generally is warmest and saltiest.
False
Western boundary currents move cold water poleward in each of the gyres.
False
Most of the plastic pollution floats on the surface of the water, making it easy to skim the surface and cleanup efforts.
False, most is bellow the surface
What happens to plastic waste in the ocean?
It never fully goes away; it just breaks into little pieces
Where does the majority of plastic waste end up?
Oceans
Thermohaline currents are created by differences in:
Salinity and Temperature. (Thermo == temperature & hairline == salinity)
The two properties of ocean water that influence density are?
Salinity and temperature.
What changes are caused by the southern oscillation in the Pacific Ocean?
Trade winds blow west to east
During a non-El Niño year, the air and surface water flow westward to the western Pacific, the thermocline rises, and upwelling of cold water occurs along the west coast of Central and South America.
True
Eastern boundary currents are associated with upwelling.
True
Gyres tend to collect seaweed and trash as their centers.
True
North Atlantic Deep Water generally moves slower than the surface currents above, and flows in the opposite direction as the Gulf Stream.
True
Surface currents distribute tropical heat worldwide. The winters in Scotland, Ireland, and England are relatively mild due to the energy transported by the North Atlantic Current and the Gulf Stream.
True
The "hill" of water that occurs as a result of westward intensification due to the Coriolis effect is formed by Ekman transport.
True
The centers of gyres tend to be calm and support high productivity.
True
The only ocean current that continues in an uninterrupted circle around the circumference of the Earth without encountering land is the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
True
The westward intensification is driven by the Coriolis effect.
True
What can be caused by ENSO events in the Eastern Pacific?
Up welled water is nutrient-depleted causing loss of productivity.
England's weather is _____ than would be expected at that latitude because of the influence of surface currents.
Warmer and wetter
Generally the fastest and deepest ocean currents are:
Western boundary currents
A transverse current is:
a surface current that connects eastern-boundary and western-boundary currents.
Currents tend to move in large ____ patterns in the northern hemisphere
Clockwise
San Francisco's characteristic cold and foggy weather is caused by a:
Cold eastern boundary current
Surface currents flow vertically in the uppermost 400 meters of the water column.
False
The centers of gyres tend to be...
...calm and support repetitively little life.
How much of the water in the world ocean is involved in surface currents?
10%
What is the residence time of most deep waters?
200 to 300 years
A system of four currents completing a flow circuit around the periphery of an ocean basin is collectively called
A gyre
Surface currents are driven mainly by temperature differences.
False
The thermohaline circulation distributes which of the following?
All Of The Above Heat Nutrients Carbon Dioxide
What happens when animals digest plastic?
All of the above They can become malnourished They can fall ill from the toxins in the plastic Chemicals from the plastic can end up in the food chain and reach humans
What water mass is the densest in the world ocean?
Antarctic Bottom Water.
All of the following statements are true about the ekman spiral, except:
Ekman spiral is not influenced by Coriolis
A transverse current is a surface current that connects eastern-boundary and western-boundary currents.
False
Downwelling can have direct effects on the climate of an adjacent coast.
False
During major ENSO events, sea level rises in the western Pacific and water temperatures also increase.
False
Langmuir circulation consists of slowly twisting cells of windows, or convergences where seaweed, debris, and foam accumulate, that operates in the surface layer, as well as below the pycnocline.
False
The concentration of plastic is highest in the ____ of the north pacific gyre.
center
The flow of water around the periphery of an ocean basin driven by winds and the Coriolis effect is called a(n) ____.
gyre.