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.
How can the density of ocean water change?
When the water freezes, the salt will separate and sink causing a higher density on the bottom than on the top. It also changes when the waters have different temperatures.
How did a global conveyer belt get its name?
It moves across the earth like the global winds.
Is the Gulf Stream a current?
Yes
Can tidal currents be predicted easily?
Yes, they change in a very regular pattern.
What is a upwelling?
Cold water that rises above the diverging surface water.
