Module 10 - Ocean Circulation

The Ekman spiral is similar to an eddy in that the water spirals downward like a whirlpool

False

The Pacific's Equatorial Currents are driven eastward by westerly winds and flow faster than the westward flowing currents driven by the trades.

False

The densest water generally is warmest and saltiest.

False

Western boundary currents move cold water poleward in each of the gyres.

False

Most of the plastic pollution floats on the surface of the water, making it easy to skim the surface and cleanup efforts.

False, most is bellow the surface

What happens to plastic waste in the ocean?

It never fully goes away; it just breaks into little pieces

Where does the majority of plastic waste end up?

Oceans

Thermohaline currents are created by differences in:

Salinity and Temperature. (Thermo == temperature & hairline == salinity)

The two properties of ocean water that influence density are?

Salinity and temperature.

What changes are caused by the southern oscillation in the Pacific Ocean?

Trade winds blow west to east

During a non-El Niño year, the air and surface water flow westward to the western Pacific, the thermocline rises, and upwelling of cold water occurs along the west coast of Central and South America.

True

Eastern boundary currents are associated with upwelling.

True

Gyres tend to collect seaweed and trash as their centers.

True

North Atlantic Deep Water generally moves slower than the surface currents above, and flows in the opposite direction as the Gulf Stream.

True

Surface currents distribute tropical heat worldwide. The winters in Scotland, Ireland, and England are relatively mild due to the energy transported by the North Atlantic Current and the Gulf Stream.

True

The "hill" of water that occurs as a result of westward intensification due to the Coriolis effect is formed by Ekman transport.

True

The centers of gyres tend to be calm and support high productivity.

True

The only ocean current that continues in an uninterrupted circle around the circumference of the Earth without encountering land is the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.

True

The westward intensification is driven by the Coriolis effect.

True

What can be caused by ENSO events in the Eastern Pacific?

Up welled water is nutrient-depleted causing loss of productivity.

England's weather is _____ than would be expected at that latitude because of the influence of surface currents.

Warmer and wetter

Generally the fastest and deepest ocean currents are:

Western boundary currents

A transverse current is:

a surface current that connects eastern-boundary and western-boundary currents.

Currents tend to move in large ____ patterns in the northern hemisphere

Clockwise

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

Cold eastern boundary current

Surface currents flow vertically in the uppermost 400 meters of the water column.

False

The centers of gyres tend to be...

...calm and support repetitively little life.

How much of the water in the world ocean is involved in surface currents?

10%

What is the residence time of most deep waters?

200 to 300 years

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

A gyre

Surface currents are driven mainly by temperature differences.

False

The thermohaline circulation distributes which of the following?

All Of The Above Heat Nutrients Carbon Dioxide

What happens when animals digest plastic?

All of the above They can become malnourished They can fall ill from the toxins in the plastic Chemicals from the plastic can end up in the food chain and reach humans

What water mass is the densest in the world ocean?

Antarctic Bottom Water.

All of the following statements are true about the ekman spiral, except:

Ekman spiral is not influenced by Coriolis

A transverse current is a surface current that connects eastern-boundary and western-boundary currents.

False

Downwelling can have direct effects on the climate of an adjacent coast.

False

During major ENSO events, sea level rises in the western Pacific and water temperatures also increase.

False

Langmuir circulation consists of slowly twisting cells of windows, or convergences where seaweed, debris, and foam accumulate, that operates in the surface layer, as well as below the pycnocline.

False

The concentration of plastic is highest in the ____ of the north pacific gyre.

center

The flow of water around the periphery of an ocean basin driven by winds and the Coriolis effect is called a(n) ____.

gyre.