Marine Science- chp 9

Benjamin Franklin was the first person to recognize the extent of the ___ and to publish a navigational chart of it

Gulf Stream

El Nino results due to an interruption of flow of the __ Current(s) in the Pacific

Humboldt and Equatorial

The only ocean current that continues in an uninterrupted circle around the circumference of the Earth without encountering land is the:

West Wind Drift

List the circuits on the world's oceans

West Wind Drift, South Pacific gyre, Indian Ocean gyre

during an El Nino event a

strong equatorial countercurrent

The ultimate source of most of the energy for ocean currents is the

sun

Britain's weather is ___ than would be expected at the latitude because of the influence of surface currents

warmer and wetter

Generally the fastest and deepest ocean currents are the

western boundary currents

The Earth's rotation influences currents by an acceleration known as

Coriolis effect

List some El Nino effects

-an often catastrophic decrease in the commercial --fisheries of the affected countries -- an increase in ocean surface temperature in the eastern Pacific -- an increase in rainfall in west coastal countries or states of the American continents

As wind moves over the surface of the ocean, the water's direction is

45 degrees to the right

ENSO stands for

El Nino/ Southern Oscillation

Upwelling water is usually

cold and nutrient-laden

San Francisco's characteristic cold and foggy weather is caused by a:

cold eastern boundary current

The most dense water in ocean currents is the

coldest and saltiest

La Nina is a

cooling of the ocean water after El Nino

Water moving in the opposite direction from the surface current is called

friction depth

A system of four currents completing a flow circuit around the periphery of an ocean basin is collectively called a

gyre