Ocean currents Flashcards
What is the continental slope?
The steepest part of the continental margin.
What is a continental shelf ?
The flattest part of the continental margin.
What is the seamount?
An individual mountain of volcanic material on the abyssal plain.
What is a volcanic island?
A seamount above sea level.
What is a mid-ocean range?
A long volcanic mountain chain that forms on the ocean floor along the center of the ocean basins.
What is the abyssal plain?
The broad, flat portion of the deep ocean basin.
What is a trench?
A seemingly bottomless crack in the deep ocean basin.
What is a current?
The motion of water.
What are currents driven by?
Waves and tides for the ocean, Gravity for rivers and run off streams.
What can ocean currents be measured by?
Speed and direction. Together they are velocity.
What does a tide do?
It creates currents in the ocean near the shore and in bays and estuaries.
What do winds do for ocean currents?
Winds create current at or near the oceans surface. This causes local and global currents.
What does a thermohaline circulation do?
It’s driven by differences in temperatures and humidity and salinity. It also creates slow moving currents in the ocean. This is basically caused by density differences.
What are surface currents affected by?
They are affected by the Coriolis effect.
What are gyres?
Major spirals of ocean currents.
