Oceans Flashcards
What do oceans do to influence weather?
1.they regulate temperatures because of their high heat capacity.
2.they move around energy (tropical storms, hurricanes etc.)
3.the water cycle
4. 71% of earth is oceanic, greatest absorber of solar radiation. (Also absorbs carbon dioxide)
5.has greater than 50% of the oxygen on earth
The ocean plays a major role in determining our climate by its…
Ability to distribute and store heat energy through currents and wind.
What is the Coriolis Effect?
We are at 32 degrees latitude spinning at 1428 kph. The Coriolis effect is caused because the equator is spinning faster and higher latitudes are springing slower. What happens is in the northern hemisphere things are deflected clockwise or right and in the southern hemisphere counter-clockwise or left.
What is a trend of a current map?
Currents are always moving.
What techniques were used to travel by boat before motorized ships?
Currents and trade winds.
What was so important about the currents and trade roughts?
They determine trade roughts and influenced European imperialism and modern political geography.
What impact does the way that man kind breaks up bodies of water have?
1.it shows us where currents are faster and slower for trade boats
2.helps with navigation
3.tells us where the different ocean basins are
4.helps with organization and communication
Why does not all of the solar radiation get to earth?
1.energy is scattered in the atmosphere
2.some is reflected by the clouds
What is the greenhouse effect?
Atmospheric gasses cub as carbon dioxide and water vapor retain cert ion types of radiation that warm the atmosphere.
What does the circulation of the world’s ocean mirror?
It mirrors the movement of the atmosphere.
What are Gyres?
a circular pattern found in the ocean where currents mix and “swirl” in predictable patterns.
What are surface currents driven by?
They are driven by atmospheric winds.
What is upwelling?
nutrients brought to the surface of the ocean. The colder, denser, nutrient-rich waters near the ocean floor are raised to the phototic zone where sunlight and nutrients encourage algal blooms (phytoplankton explosion).
What is the Tropic of Cancer?
The Tropic of Cancer is an imaginary line that runs through the northern hemisphere at 23.5 degrees north and marks the upper boundary of the tropics. The Tropic of Cancer is named for the constellation the crab.
What is the Tropic of Capricorn?
The imaginary line that runs in the southern hemisphere at 23.5o S and demarks the lower boundary of the tropics. The Tropic of Capricorn is named after the constellation the ram.
