Ocean Currents Quiz
east, west
Global winds and currents near the equator flow ______ to _______.
higher, higher
High evaporation and low rainfall in summer cause the Mediterrancean Sea to have (*higher, lower*) __________ salinity and (*higher, lower*) __________ density.
direction
When an ocean current when it hits a continent it changes ___________.
salinity
Which of the following factors does *NOT* control the movement of surface currents: *salinity, location of the continents, earth's rotation, winds*?
Coriolis effect
a change in the direction of moving air, water, or objects due to Earth's rotation
gyres
a circular ocean current
Sargasso Sea
a vast area of calm, warm water in the center of the North Atlantic Gyre
El Nino
change in Pacific Ocean water temperature that makes a warm current
California Current
current that flows south to cool the West Coast of the United States
buoys
devices used by scientists to collect data to predict an El Nino
westerlies
global wind belt located in the middle latitudes
trade winds
global wind belt located north and south of the equator
surface current
horizontal movement of ocean water near or at the surface, caused by wind
La Nina
makes the eastern Pacific Ocean surface cooler
deep current
stream-like movement of ocean water far below the ocean's surface
ocean currents
stream-like movements of water
Antarctic Bottom Water
the densest ocean water, formed primarily in Antarctica's Weddell Sea during Southern Hemisphere winters
Gulf Stream
warm Atlantic current flowing north along the eastern coast of the United States