The Gulf Stream

Who was the Gulf Stream named by?

Benjamin Franklin who had consulted a Nantucket fisherman about the slow passage of mail packets from England to the colonies of America. He named it, incorrectly believing that it originated in the Gulf of Mexico

The warmth is carried to what countries on the west coasts of Europe?

Ireland, Great Britain, Norway, and France

Explain the Gulf Streams route

It begins in the western Caribbean Sea and flows through the Gulf of Mexico and the straits of Florida. I then moves north along the east coast of the United States to Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. Here, it turns northeast and heads across the Atlantic towards Europe.

What does the current also bring to the surface?

It brings nutrients from the ocean floor to the surface, which promotes the growth of aquatic organisms that live there, and the organisms in turn are eaten by various types of fish

What is another important effect of the Gulf Stream?

Its circulation of water along the east coast of the United States

Does the northward flow go near Finland?

No

The Gulf Stream is a major...

Ocean current

Does the eastward flow go near Greenland?

Yes

Does the northward flow affect the British Isles?

Yes

Does the northward flow go past Norway?

Yes

Does the southeastward branch flow past Portugal?

Yes

Does the southeastward branch flow past the west coast of Africa?

Yes

How fast does the Flow go near its beginning?

70 miles per day

What is the Gulf Stream?

A swift flowing current that forms the northwestern edge of a large, clockwise system of currents in the North Atlantic Ocean, that has enormous effects on climate, transportation by sea, and the circulation of nutrients and wastes in the water.

What is the Gulf Streams relationship with the North Atlantic Drift?

As the Gulf Stream reaches mis-Atlantic it joins with other currents and become the North Atlantic Drift.

How fast does the flow go near Newfoundland?

Decreases 10 miles per day

What experiments did Franklin conduct?

Experiments about temperature and speed of the current on some of his crossings of the Atlantic

The swift flow of it helps what?

Ship transportation

What have been plotted, caught in the flow, and travel in a circular, clockwise manner over a period of years?

Shipwrecks

What did the fisherman explain to Franklin?

That a huge current, flowing eastward, slowed and even stopped some of the large British ships which made the mistake of getting in the middle of the stream

What do navigators know?

That it is a faster voyage to get into the flow of the Gulf Stream when heading eastward across the Atlantic

What makes the Gulf Stream so important to human life?

The exchange or circulation of tropical heat into cooler, northern regions. This circulation system enables plant, animal and human life to easily exist where without, existence would be difficult.

Which directions does the flow separate into?

The flows separates into the countercurrents and flows northward, eastward, and even southeastward in a sort of clockwise flow.

What warms the Gulf Stream?

The hot Caribbean sun, that ranges from 11-18 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the surrounding water

What happens in the winter?

The water temperature east of Cape Hatteras is warmer than the air, so the WESTERN WINDS that blow toward Europe, are warmed as they cross over the Gulf Stream

What do cities and industries do?

They dump wastes not the ocean in that area, and the flow of the current helps scatter and dilute the pollutants