OCEAN CURRENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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salinity

Salt

Gulf Stream

A warm ocean current of the northern Atlantic Ocean off eastern North America. It originates in the Gulf of Mexico and, as the Florida Current, passes through the Straits of Florida and then flows northward along the southeast coast of the United States

Continental Deflection

Since the Earth's surface is not fully covered by water, currents cannot move freely around the world. When surface ocean currents meet continents, they deflect, or change direction. 2.

surface ocean current

Winds are able to move the top 400 meters of the ocean creating surface ocean currents. Surface ocean currents form large circular patterns called gyres. Gyres flow clockwise in Northern Hemisphere oceans and counterclockwise in Southern Hemisphere oceans because of the Coriolis Effect.

Humboldt Current

also called the Peru Current, is a major Eastern Boundary Upwelling Ecosystem that flows north along the western coast of South America. It is an eastern boundary current flowing in the direction of the equator, and extend 500-1,000 kilometers offshore.

deep ocean current

are driven by density and temperature gradients. Thermohaline circulation is also known as the ocean's conveyor belt (which refers to deep ocean density driven ocean basin currents). These currents, called submarine rivers, flow under the surface of the ocean and are hidden from immediate detection.

Labrador Current

is a cold current in the North Atlantic Ocean which flows from the Arctic Ocean south along the coast of Labrador and passes around Newfoundland, continuing south along the east coast of Nova Scotia. It is a continuation of the West Greenland Current and the Baffin Island Current.

Global Conveyor Belt (current)

is a constantly moving system of deep-ocean circulation driven by temperature and salinity. The great ocean conveyor moves water around the globe. ... Cold, salty water is dense and sinks to the bottom of the ocean while warm water is less dense and remains on the surface

upwelling

is a process in which deep, cold water rises toward the surface. This graphic shows how displaced surface waters are replaced by cold, nutrient-rich water that "wells up" from below. Winds blowing across the ocean surface push water away.

ocean current

is a seasonal directed movement of seawater generated by forces acting upon this mean flow, such as breaking waves, wind, the Coriolis effect, cabbeling, temperature and salinity differences, while tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon.

Coriolis Effect

makes storms swirl clockwise in the Southern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.

thermohaline effect

s a part of the large-scale ocean circulation that is driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes.


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