Ocean Currents

The continents act as _____________ to surface currents

Barriers

The temperature of the water near Antarctica is very cold (-2°) the waters salinity is high and it is the __________ and _______ ocean water in the world

Densest, coldest

The movement of polar waters is a result of differences in __________

Density

In the North Atlantic, the water is very cold and has a high salinity. This cold, salty water forms a deep current that moves southward under the northward flowing _________ _________

Gulf stream

Wind has _________ energy

Kinetic

The warm ___________ current, the pacific equivalent of the Gulf Stream, flows northward along the east coast Asia. This current then flows torward North America as the North Pacific drift

Kuroshio

South of Greenland, the Gulf Stream widens and slows until it becomes a vast, slow moving warm current known as the ___________ _____________ current

North Atlantic

The Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic current, the canary current, and north equatorial current form the ___________ ______________ ________

North Atlantic gyre

Gyre

a huge circle of moving ocean water found above and below the equator

Deep current

a streamlike movement of ocean water far below the surface

Coriolis effect

the curving of the path of a moving object from an otherwise straight path due to Earth's rotation

When a surface current flows against a continent, the current is ___________ and ____________

Deflected, divided

Surface current

A horizontal movement of ocean water that is caused by wind and that occurs at or near the ocean's surface

Current

A horizontal movement of water in a well defined pattern, such as a river or stream

Surface currents are controlled by 3 factors:

Air currents, earths rotation, location of continents

Energy is transferred from the ______ to the _________

Air, ocean

The dense, cold water sinks to the bottom and forms the _____________ ________ _______

Antarctic bottom water

In the most southernly regions of the oceans, constant westward winds produce the winds largest current, the ___________ _______________ current, aka the west wind drift

Antarctic circumpolar

It eventually flows southward along the ___________ coast as a cool current

California

No _____________ interrupt the movement of this current that completely circles Antarctica and crosses all 3 major oceans

Continents

The ____________ are another major influence on surface currents

Continents

___________ _____________ form as cold, dense water of the polar regions sinks and flows beneath the warmer ocean water

Deep currents

Wind belts and ocean currents follow a curved or circular pattern that is caused by __________ ____________

Earths rotation

Between is a weaker eastward flowing current called the ______________ __________________

Equatorial countercurrent

Warm ___________ _________ are located in the Atlantic, pacific, and Indian oceans

Equatorial currents

Near western ___________, the North Atlantic current splits

Europe

____________ __________ _________, such as trade winds or westerlies, are a major factor affecting the flow of ocean surface water

Global wind belts

The dense, high saline water of the Mediterranean Sea forms a deep current as it flows through the straight of _____________ into the Atlantic Ocean

Gribraltar

Water at ___________ surface begins to move

Oceans

The patterns of currents in the north ________ ha similar to the one in the north _________

Pacific, atlantic

Oceanographers identify ocean currents by studying the ______________ and __________ characteristics of ocean water

Physical, chemical

At the center of this gyre lies a vast area of calm, warm water called ____________ ______

Sargasso sea

Ocean current categories:

Surface currents, deep currents

___________ and _________ determines density

Temperature, salinity

Gulf Stream

The swift, deep, and warm Atlantic current that flows along the eastern coast of the United States torward the northeast

I'm both hemispheres ___________ _________ belts push currents westward across the tropical latitudes of all 3 major oceans

Trade wind

Each of these oceans has 2 warm water equatorial currents that move in a ___________ direction

Westward

What causes gyres to form?

Wind belts, coriolis effect

__________ _________ and the ________ ________ cause huge circles of moving water called gyres to form

Wind belts, coriolis effect