Chapter 7

Question 1

_______ are a result of global prevailing wind patterns known as the ______ and _______.

Answer 1

Surface Currents;Trade Winds;Westerlies

Question 2

Surface currents form above the _____ and create large-scale circular-moving loops of water known as _______

Answer 2

Pycnocline;Subtropical Gyres

Question 3

Gyres are made up of ________ (N,S,E,W) and ______ (E and W)

Answer 3

boundary currents;equatorial currents

Question 4

Surface currents are influenced by:

• the _______
• the _______
• the _______ and _______ which describe the speed and direction of water at different depths
• Ekman Transport produces a _______ (or “hill” ) of water within gyres
• ________ form as water flows down the “hill” under the influence of _____ and the ______
• the ________ of the “hill” results in narrow, deep, and strong currents on the western boundaries of ocean basins

Answer 4

• shapes of continents
• Coriolis effect
• Ekman Spiral;Ekman Transport
• Subtropical Convergence
• “Geostrophic Currents”; gravity; Coriolis effect
• Western Intensification

Question 5

The ________ flows at 2.5 m/sec (or ~5

mph)

Answer 5

Gulf Stream Current

Question 6

_______ are used to measure surface currents

Answer 6

Drift Meters

Question 7

Choose one: (Surface currents/Deep Currents)
A. Direct Methods
1. Floating device tracked through
time
2. Fixed current meter

B. Indirect Methods

3. Pressure gradients
4. Radar altimeters
5. Doppler flow meter

Answer 7

Surface currents

Question 8

Choose one: (Surface currents/ Deep Currents)
A. Direct Methods
1. Floating devices tracked through
time
2. Chemical Tracers
3. Tritium
4. Chlorofluorocarbons

B. Indirect Methods
1. Characteristic temperature and salinity conditions

Answer 8

Deep Currents

Question 9

• Surface currents _______ away from the equator
  and toward the poles
• warm currents result in ______ coastal climates
• cold currents result in ______ coastal climates

Answer 9

• Transfer Heat
• wet/humid
• dry/arid

Question 10

Offshore currents result in _____ and _______ and onshore currents result in ______
- important for ocean mixing

Answer 10

Upwelling; high biological activity; Downwelling

Question 11

__________ occurs as Trade Winds move surface water away from the equator

Answer 11

Equatorial Upwelling

Question 12

Deep Ocean Currents are caused by density differences in seawater below the _____ and result in _______

Answer 12

Pycnocline;Thermohaline Circulation

Question 13

__________ is a combination of deep ocean currents and surface currents

Answer 13

”Conveyor-Belt Circulation”

Question 14

Changes in the global deep-water circulation pattern can dramatically and abruptly change climate. Example:

Answer 14

• The Day After Tomorrow

Question 15

1) downwelling
A) seasonal wind pattern
B) water mass found in the Sargasso Sea
C) net water movement to the left or right of the direction of the wind
D) movement of water from the bottom to the top of the water column
E) unit of current velocity
AB) water flow driven by gravity and modified by the Coriolis force
AC) movement of water from the top to the bottom of the water column

Answer 15

movement of water from the top to the bottom of the water column

Question 16

2) Ekman transport
A) seasonal wind pattern
B) water mass found in the Sargasso Sea
C) net water movement to the left or right of the direction of the wind
D) movement of water from the bottom to the top of the water column
E) unit of current velocity
AB) water flow driven by gravity and modified by the Coriolis force
AC) movement of water from the top to the bottom of the water column

Answer 16

net water movement to the left or right of the direction of the wind

Question 17

3) geostrophic current
A) seasonal wind pattern
B) water mass found in the Sargasso Sea
C) net water movement to the left or right of the direction of the wind
D) movement of water from the bottom to the top of the water column
E) unit of current velocity
AB) water flow driven by gravity and modified by the Coriolis force
AC) movement of water from the top to the bottom of the water column

Answer 17

??????water flow driven by gravity and modified by the Coriolis force

Question 18

4) upwelling
A) seasonal wind pattern
B) water mass found in the Sargasso Sea
C) net water movement to the left or right of the direction of the wind
D) movement of water from the bottom to the top of the water column
E) unit of current velocity
AB) water flow driven by gravity and modified by the Coriolis force
AC) movement of water from the top to the bottom of the water column

Answer 18

movement of water from the bottom to the top of the water column

Question 19

5) California Current
A) tropical latitudes
B) cold current, northern hemisphere, temperate
latitudes
C) northern hemisphere, temperate latitudes, warm
current
D) cold current, southern hemisphere, temperate
latitudes
E) cold current, polar latitudes, southern hemisphere

Answer 19

cold current, northern hemisphere, temperate

latitudes

Question 20

6) Gulf Stream
A) tropical latitudes
B) cold current, northern hemisphere, temperate
latitudes
C) northern hemisphere, temperate latitudes, warm
current
D) cold current, southern hemisphere, temperate
latitudes
E) cold current, polar latitudes, southern hemisphere

Answer 20

northern hemisphere, temperate latitudes, warm

current

Question 21

7) West Wind Drift
A) tropical latitudes
B) cold current, northern hemisphere, temperate
latitudes
C) northern hemisphere, temperate latitudes, warm
current
D) cold current, southern hemisphere, temperate
latitudes
E) cold current, polar latitudes, southern hemisphere

Answer 21

cold current, polar latitudes, southern hemisphere

Question 22

8) Equatorial currents are driven by the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.
A) Coriolis force
B) density
C) Ekman transport
D) trade winds
E) westerlies

Answer 22

trade winds

Question 23

9) The Ekman spiral is caused by ________.
A) density differences in the water column
B) the wind and gravity
C) the wind and the Coriolis effect
D) the pycnocline
E) pressure gradients

Answer 23

????the wind and the Coriolis effect

Question 24

10) Which type of current flow moves in a circular path around a subtropical convergence, reflecting Ekman transport, gravity, and the Coriolis effect?
A) Counter-current circulation
B) Density-driven circulation
C) Geostrophic circulation
D) Langmuir circulation
E) Thermohaline circulation

Answer 24

Geostrophic circulation

Question 25

Students sometimes ask…Is the Gulf Stream rich in life?

Answer 25

-not rich in life but the boundaries are
-Warm water current
-low productivity and an absence of marine life
Additional info:
-Kuroshio Currents
Northern Pacific Ocean
named for absence of marine life
it means black current (clear, lifeless water)

Question 26

Students sometimes ask..What is the Loop current, and how are hurricanes affected by it?

Answer 26

• warm ocean surface current in the Gulf of Mexico
• flows northward between Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula
• moves north into the Gulf of Mexico
• Loops east and south before exiting to the east through Florida straits and eventually merging w/ other waters to form the Gulf Stream
• Loop Current eddies= rings that spin off from the Loop Current

Question 27

Students sometimes ask..Do El Nino events occur in other ocean basins?

Answer 27

• Yes
• Atlantic and Indian Oceans
• Great width of the Pacific Ocean in equatorial latitudes is the main reason that El Nino events occur more strongly in the Pacific