The Oceans - Chapter 2: Surface Currents Flashcards
What sets surface waters in motion?
the wind
The Gulf Stream represents a portion of a huge, slowly moving, circular wheel called ___ that begins near the equator
gyre
When the atmosphere and ocean are in contact ___ is passed from moving air to the water through friction
energy
The drag exerted by winds blowing across the ocean causes ___
the surface layer of water to move
The ocean circulation is incfluenced by wind also because in the Indian Ocean there are seasonal wind shifts known as summer and winter ___
monsoons
What is the most significant non-wind factor that influence the movements of ocean waters?
Coriolis effect
What is the Coriolis effect?
Due to earth’s rotation currents are deflected to the right of their path of motion in N. Hemisphere and left in S. Hemisphere. This is greater in high latitudes and decreases near equator
Does the direction of surface currents necessarily coincide with wind direction?
No
North and south of the equator are two ____ moving currents
westward
North and South Equatorial currents derive their energy principally from the trade winds that blow from the ____ and ____
northeast and southeast (towards equator)
Because of the deflection created by the Coriolis effect, the currents at the gyre of the North Atlantic will move almost due ____
west
between the westward flowing currents there is a weaker, oppositely directed eastward flow called th
Equatorial Countercurrent
Which direction is the circulation of the North Atlantic?
clockwise
What sea (named after a type of seaweed) is a zone of calmer waters in the North Atlantic?
Sargasso Sea
The circulation of the Pacific generally ____ that of the Atlantic
Parallels
