Ocean 15

Which is a reasonable expected speed of an ocean surface current?

1 kilometer per hour

What is the definition of the unit of speed known as a knot?

1 nautical mile per hour

You are on a ship and you notice that it took exactly 10 hours to sail from exactly 10 degrees north latitude to exactly 12 degrees north latitude. What was your ship's speed during that time?

12 knots

In the accompanying diagram, which current is labeled by the number 3?

Brazil Current

The current at the eastern boundary of the North Atlantic gyre is the __________ current.

Canary Current

The North Atlantic gyre rotates counterclockwise.

F

In the accompanying diagram, which current is labeled by the number 6?

Kuroshio Current

Wind blowing steadily over water so that alternate helical cells form parallel to the wind direction often creates

Langmuir circulation

Ocean surface currents moderate land climates by carrying heat from the tropics toward higher latitudes.

T

Large scale ocean surface currents

are deflected by the same coriolis effect as the atmosphere

Which of the following describes the pattern of the North Atlantic gyre.

at latitude 10-15 degrees it is driven westward by the northeast trade winds

In the Pacific Ocean off California, a south wind would cause

coastal downwelling

The center of the Sargasso Sea is a zone of _________ .

convergence and downwelling

The name given to the total mass of water driven by friction (wind) forces in the ocean's upper 100-150 meters is

surface currents

The speed of the Florida Current/Gulf Stream is high because

the channel through which it flows is narrow

Ekman transport associated with the doldrums creates the

tropical divergence

On this representation of the waters adjacent to the east coast of the United States, the letter "D" indicates

warm core ring(s)