Intro (The Climatic Influence of Ocean Currents)

Question 1

The water of the oceans is in perpetual state of circulatory motion driven by ______.

Answer 1

convection

Question 2

Has a large effect on climate, particularly in Europe

Answer 2

oceanic conveyor belt

Question 3

• This motion is partly initiated by subsidence of water in _______.
• Water ____ because of its _______ (low temperature, high salinity)

Answer 3

• North Atlantic
• sinks, high density

Question 4

When water freezes, it contains about____________ of a percent salt. It leaves behind a _____ amount of salt in the water. When this ______ the salinity of the surrounding ocean water and thus ______ its density.

Answer 4

• five tenths
• considerable
• increases (same answer)

Question 5

Great Ocean Conveyor Belt

• North Atlantic: ______ because of its relatively high density (due to ____ and ______)

Answer 5

• water sinks, low temperature and high salinity

Question 6

Great Ocean Conveyor Belt

• Indian and Pacific Oceans: water is warmed by the ___ –> becomes ____ –> ______ to the surface
• The return to the ____ (at the surface, as “surface currents”) and bring warm water into otherwise ______.

Answer 6

• sun, becomes warmer, rises
• North, cold seas

Question 7

Winds blowing across the _______ transfer a significant degree of warmth to the surrounding countries.
- Annual amount of heat absorbed from the conveyor belt is almost ____ as much as the heat received from the sun in this location.
- The counties in this location is ____ than they would be without the ____.

Answer 7

• North Atlantic
• one-third
• 8C warmer, conveyor belt.

Question 8

As prevailing winds blow across the oceans some of their kinetic energy is transferred to the water, producing the great surface currents of the world.

Answer 8

Wind-blown surface currents

Question 9

• Rotation of the earth influences the paths of the currents: _____
• North of equator: ______
• South: _____

Answer 9

• circular flows
• clockwise
• anti-clockwise

Question 10

Tropospheric airflow
- primary circulation, _______ movements
- ___ and ___ are also recognized; e.g. smaller-scale phenomena covering distance < ______

Answer 10

• large-scale
• 2° and 3°, 160 km

Question 11

Tropospheric airflow
- three forces influencing circulation
1. (main driving force)
2. (decreases speed)
3. (deflects direction)

Answer 11

• The pressure gradient
• The frictional force
• The Coriolis force

Question 12

________
- A force generated by a difference in pressure
- A fluid tends to move from ________ region to ______ region

Answer 12

Pressure gradient force
- high pressure, low pressure

Question 13

Deflection, depending on
which hemisphere you are:
north, right; south, left

Answer 13

The Coriolis force

Question 14

The direction of _______ as a consequence of Coriolis force

Answer 14

airflow deflection

Question 15

________
- a force that tends to dissipate the energy of a moving body (moving surface air transfers some of its energy to the Earth’s surface -> velocity of air is reduced)
- it acts in the direction _____ the direction of surface air movement

Answer 15

Frictional Forces

• opposite

Question 16

The result of the forces causing airflow

Answer 16

Tropospheric airflow

Question 17

Three cell model of primary air circulation

Answer 17

• The Hadley Cell
• Polar Cell
• Ferrel cell

Question 18

_______
- Cold air at the pole sinks -> high
pressure areas at the north and
south poles.
- -> divergent flow at the surface
(to balance the incoming flow of
sinking cold air); air moves equatorwards (becoming easterly
because of Coiolis force)

Answer 18

Polar Cell

Question 19

_______
- At the divergent zone: the
equatorwards surface air
(easterlies) is part of hadley cell.
- The poleward surface air
(westerlies) meets the
equatorwards surface air
(easterlies) of the polar cell. ->
______.

Answer 19

Ferrel cell

• low pressure 60° convergence

Question 20

Average surface wind directions

Answer 20

Tropospheric airflow

Question 21

• Three-cell model: Within each cell, the flow ____(upper air flow) must be in the opposite direction to
  that in the ground (surface air flow).
• Within the ___ (mid-latitude) cell in the north, the upper air flow must be ___, opposite to the westerly poleward surface air flow.
• But the predominant upper air flow is westerly. -> ____ (very high speeds)
• This is know to be present in both the ___ and ____ hemisphere.

Answer 21

• aloft
• Ferrel, easterly
• jet streams
• north, south

Question 22

Two essentially circumpolar jet streams within the mid-latitude region

Answer 22

1. subtropical jet stream
2. polar front jet stream

Question 23

Not truly circular about either pole: wave-like -> ____

Answer 23

Rossby waves

Question 24

A _____ is an area of strong winds ranging from ____
mph that can be thousands of miles long, a couple of hundred
miles across and a few miles deep.

Answer 24

• jet stream
• 120-250

Question 25

Jet streams usually sit at
the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere at a level called the ____ about____ off the ground.

Answer 25

• tropopause
• 6-9 miles

Question 26

A jet stream forms directly over the _____of the strongest area of horizontal temperature difference, or the ____.

Answer 26

• center, front

Question 27

As a general rule, a ____ has a jet stream directly above it that is ___ to it.

Answer 27

• strong front, parallel

Question 28

• The ___ sits at roughly 60°N latitude because this is generally where the ____ sits.
• The _____ is at roughly 30°N latitude. The _____ is located at 30°N because of the temperature differences between ____ at mid-latitudes and the______.

Answer 28

• polar jet, polar front
• subtropical jet (same answer for two blanks), air, warmer equatorial air.