Fresh & Salt water Systems Checkpoint Two Flashcards
What does the “global conveyor belt” do?
It transports heat through warm water to different areas of the world.
What are currents?
A stream of water within a larger body of water.
What are surface water currents mainly caused by?
- Wind
- Earth’s Rotation
What are deep water currents mainly caused by?
- Temperature differences in the water.
- Salinity differences in the water.
- Earth’s Rotation
What do warm or cold currents greatly influence?
The climates on land.
Also the precipitation (warm air holds more moisture than cold air)
Why are currents different from waves?
Because the water moves from place to place.
What are waves?
Up and down movements on the surface of all bodies of water.
True or False? Waves move.
FALSE, waves do NOT move. Energy is just transferred through the water as a wave.
How are swells created?
1) Strong storms caused high winds that blow across water.
2) Small waves are created, and combine, creating larger waves.
3) Large waves combine to form a swell.
4) Swells produced out at sea eventually travel to the shoreline and ‘break’ on the shore.
What factors affect swells?
- Large wind speeds
- Distance the wind blows over the water (called fetch)
- The time wind has blown over fetch.
What effects do waves have on the shoreline?
They break against the shoreline and cause erosion of land surfaces. Waves can affect both rock and sand.
What are tides?
Daily changes in the water level of the oceans.
How many tidal changes happen during a day?
- Two low tides
- Two high tides
What is a high and low tide?
High tide- highest water level along the coast
Low tide- lowest water level along the coast
What are Tidal forces caused by?
1) The moon’s gravitational force (main cause)
2) Centripetal force causes water to bulge more at the equator
3) The sun also has an influence, but it is very small
What is a Rip Tide?
no it is not just a song
When the tide is receding (high to low tide) through an estuary it can pull a large amount of water through a narrow gap, this can pull objects off into sea very quickly.
What do you call the solid outer surface of Earth made of rock?
(no it is not a joke!)
The Lithosphere
What are the high and low points of the lithosphere called?
High- mountain ranges
low- basins (ex. oceans)
What is climate?
The average weather measured over a long period of time in a certain area. (water can hold heat and also affect precipitation to affect the climates)
What are Chinook Winds?
Abnormally warm winds that sweep across the prairies. They are created by rain shadow affects.
What is the rain shadow affect?
1) Warm moist air from the ocean moves over land.
2) As it moves over the land it deposits most of the moisture (especially at high elevations)
3) What’s left is a warm dry air with very little moisture.
* in Alberta, the Rocky Mountains create a rain shadow affect*
