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