Oceanography 3

Question 1

What are OCEAN CURRENTS driven by?

Answer 1

Wind
Density

Question 2

Describe the GLOBAL OVERTURNING CIRCULATION.

Answer 2

Cold, salty, dense water which is produced at the poles sinks
Warm water flows past this to the surface (return flow)
Over a thousand year time-scale

Question 3

Explain the CORIOLIS EFFECT.

Answer 3

The Earth rotates once a day which movies the different water bodies in the ocean
The effects of this are most strong at the poles
Causes wind and water to be deflected (to the right in the northern hemisphere, to the left in the southern hemisphere)
The steering is called EKMAN transport

Question 4

What is THE GULF STREAM?

Answer 4

The northerly loop of the North Atlantic Tropical Gyre
Carries warm water to the UK

Question 5

Describe the ANTARCTIC CIRCUMPOLAR CURRENT.

Answer 5

Current that circumscribes the whole Earth
Caused by a powerful wind belt and drives upwelling of deep waters back to the surface
Creates the stormiest ocean

Question 6

Describe THE PLASTIC VORTEX.

Answer 6

Happens in the convergent flow of the North Pacific Gyre
Masses of non-biodegradable debris accumulate there over time

Question 7

Explain UPWELLING.

Answer 7

When currents and wind move the water so that surface nutrients are replenished to the euphotic zone
Coastal upwelling
Equatorial flow
Gyres