Surface Currents

Ocean Circulation

Which surfer is in Florida and which one is in California?

The Gulf Stream

Surface Currents – streams of water in the ocean caused by global wind patterns.

They move warm water away from the Equator. “ “ cold “ “ “ “ Poles.

Most curve to the right in the Northern Hemisphere. “ “ “ “ left “ “ Southern “

So why do the ocean currents curve?

The rotation of the Earth causes the wind and ocean currents to curve.

This is known as the Coriolis Effect.

Rubber Ducks

10 JANUARY 1992: Somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean nearly 29,000 First Years bath toys, including bright yellow rubber ducks, are spilled from a cargo ship in the Pacific Ocean.

1992

16 NOVEMBER 1992: Caught in the Subpolar Gyre (counter-clockwise ocean current in the Bering Sea, between Alaska and Siberia), the ducks take 10 months to begin landing on the shores of Alaska.

1992

1992

EARLY 1995: The ducks take three years to circle around from the drop site, to northeast to Alaska, south to Hawaii, and back west to the original drop site, with some even landing again in North America. NOAA worked out that the ducks travel approximately 50 percent faster than the water in the current.

1992

1992

1993

1995

1995 - 2000: Some intrepid ducks escape the Subpolar Gyre and head North, through the Bering Straight and into the frozen waters of the Arctic. Frozen into the ice the ducks travel slowly across the pole, moving ever eastward.

1992

1992

1993

1995

1995

2000: Ducks begin reaching the North Atlantic where they begin to thaw and move southward. Soon ducks are sighted bobbing in the waves from Maine to Massachusetts. .

1992

1992

1993

1995

1995

2000

2001: Ducks are tracked in the area where the Titanic sank. .

1992

1992

1993

1995

1995

2000

2001

2003: The First Years company offers a $100 savings bond reward for the recovery of wayward ducks from the 1992 spill. To be valid ducks must be sent to the company and must be found in New England, Canada, or Iceland. Britain is told to prepare for an invasion of the wayward ducks as well.

1992

1992

1993

1995

1995

2000

2001

2003: They begin washing up on the shores of Scotland.

1992

1992

1993

1995

1995

2000

2001

2003

Totals – over 17,000 miles during 11 years

1992

1992

1993

1995

1995

2000

2001

2003

The Dead Sea and

The Great Salt Lake

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea, between Israel and Jordan, has a salinity of 30%, 8.6 times saltier than the ocean.

The Dead Sea, between Israel and Jordan, has a salinity of 30%, 8.6 times saltier than the ocean.

The Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake in Utah has a salinity of up to 27%, 7.7 times saltier than the ocean.

Deep Sea Currents

Ocean Circulation

Deep Sea Currents – Cold, salty, dense water that moves along the sea floor.

• Part of the global ocean “conveyor belt”

• May not rise back to the surface for over 1,000 years

• Starts when water gets cold and salty, becomes dense, and sinks to the sea floor

Salinity – the amount of salt in the water

Oceans and Climate

February Average Temperatures

-32 -24 -16 -8 0 8 16 24 32

Degrees Celsius

July Average Temperatures

-32 -24 -16 -8 0 8 16 24 32

Degrees Celsius

Yellowknife, NWT 62 degrees North

San Francisco, CA 38 degrees North

Dodge City, KS 38 degrees North

Bergen, Norway 60 degrees North Moscow, Russia

56 degrees North

Edinburgh, Scotland 56 degrees North

Dublin, Ireland 53 degrees North

Ojmjakon, Russia 63 degrees North

What effect does the Gulf Stream have on the climate in Europe?

How do ocean currents affect climate?Temp. + Maritime Climate (near the ocean) – mild temps. Not too hot and not too cold.

+ Continental Climate (inland) – extreme temps. Hot summers and cold winters

How do ocean currents affect climate?Temp. + Maritime Climate (near the ocean) – mild temps. Not too hot and not too cold.

+ Continental Climate (inland) – extreme temps. Hot summers and cold winters

Precip. + Warm currents cause more clouds and rain.

+ Cold currents make dry weather – deserts.