surface currents
TRANSCRIPT
SURFACE CURRENTS
Surface Currents• horizontal• wind-driven• caused by friction between wind and water• wind blows water, but then Coriolis effect affects direction of water movement
Coriolis Effect
Coriolis Effect• wind blows the water, but then water is deflected clockwise or counterclockwise
• results in:gyres – massive circular systems of wind-driven surface currents – similar patterns in Atlantic, Pacific and IndianOceans
main gyres in the world’s ocean
northern hemisphere - clockwisesouthern hemisphere - counterclockwise
WIND PATTERNS
wind patterns and Coriolis effect result in the major currents in
the ocean
Western Boundary Currents• along western edge of ocean basins• strongest currents in oceans• in part due to amplification of Coriolis
effect at higher latitudes• ex: Gulf Stream Current
Eastern Boundary Currents
• along eastern edge of ocean basins• much weaker• ex: Canary Current
western boundary currents arestronger than eastern boundary currents
The Gulf Stream• known for years that currents could
help ships travel faster• Benjamin Franklin had first map of
Gulf StreamCurrent made
The Gulf Stream• western boundary current in North Atlantic• strongest current in ocean• separates cold northern water from warmer water of the Sargasso Sea
TheGulf
StreamCurrent
Eddies• also called warm core rings• break off of currents• can transport tropical organisms to
Long Island waters
howeddiesform