what factors control ocean currents
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What is a current? Oceanic currents describe the movement of water from one location to another. Currents are generally measured in meters per second or in knots (1 knot = 1.85 kilometers per hour or 1.15 miles per hour). Oceanic currents are driven by three main factors: 1. The rise and fall of the tides. Tides create a current in the oceans, which are strongest near the shore, and in bays and estuaries along the coast.
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Ocean Currents Currents are caused by winds, gravity, and variations in water density in different parts of the ocean. There are two distinct current systems in the oceans surface circulation, which stirs a relatively thin upper layer of the sea, and deep circulation, which sweeps along the deep-sea floor.hese gyres are made up of currents set in motion by winds and gravity, and steered by the placement of the continents and the rotation of the Earth. Wind is the most important cause of surface currents. When strong, sustained winds blow across the sea, friction drags a thin layer of water into motion.
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Earth Science for Kids Deep ocean currents are caused by a number of things including changes in the temperature, salinity (how salty the water is), and density of the water. One other factor impacting ocean currents is the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun. World wide ocean currents. (Click on picture to see large view)
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- Surface ocean currents are primarily affected by wind patterns. Trade winds can push water along the top of the ocean and aid in the formation of surface currents. One example of a wind-driven circulation affecting an ocean current is the Gulf Stream.ncreasing carbon dioxide levels in waters and warmer water temperatures impact global ocean circulations, which are one of the primary drivers of weather, temperature, precipitation, and seasons, and therefore affect a variety of aspects of health.
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Can someone please explain how ocean currents affect global climate? · just now. 1  Ocean currents affect global climate because of the water they transport. Warm ocean currents bring warm water to the poles so that they don't freeze, and cold ocean currents bring down water from the poles. 2  Ocean currents bring warm and cold water to different parts of the globe.
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Ocean Currents and Climate This creates a cycle of upwelling and downwelling. Prevailing winds, ocean surface currents, and the associated mixing influence the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the ocean, as well as global climate. Deep ocean currents are density-driven and differ from surface currents in scale, speed, and energy.
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Ocean Currents Ocean currents are the vertical or horizontal movement of both surface and deep water throughout the world’s oceans. Currents normally move in a specific direction and aid significantly in the circulation of the Earth’s moisture, the resultant weather, and water pollution.ecause ocean currents circulate water worldwide, they have a significant impact on the movement of energy and moisture between the oceans and the atmosphere. As a result, they are important to the world’s weather.
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- Surface currents in the ocean are primarily driven by the wind. Examine the relationship between global wind directions and the direction of surface currents. Notice that currents flowing toward the equator are generally cool and currents flowing away from the equator are warm.xamine the relationship between global wind directions and the direction of surface currents. Notice that currents flowing toward the equator are generally cool and currents flowing away from the equator are warm.
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- Because these huge circular currents are blocked by continents, smaller (though still giant) ocean current circles called gyres are formed. Differences in water density affect vertical ocean currents (movement of surface ocean water to the bottom of the ocean and movement of deep ocean water to the surface). Variations in water density are caused by variations in salinity (the amount of salt in water) and temperature.
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Ocean Currents The Types and Causes of Ocean Currents. In addition to their varying size and strength, ocean currents differ in type. They can be either surface or deep water. Surface currents are those found in the upper 400 meters (1,300 feet) of the ocean and make up about 10% of all the water in the ocean. Surface currents are mostly caused by the wind because it creates friction as it moves over the water.
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What is a current? The term current describes the motion of the ocean. You know about ocean tides, but how much do you know about ocean currents? Watch our three-minute video podcast to learn what puts the motion in the ocean. Ocean currents are driven by wind, water density differences, and tides. Oceanic currents describe the movement of water from one location to another. Currents are generally measured in meters per second or in knots (1 knot = 1.85 kilometers per hour or 1.15 miles per hour). Oceanic currents are driven by three main factors: 1.
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Currents and Climates Currents affect climate by moving cold and warm water around the globe. In general, how do currents carry water? Currents carry warm water from the tropics toward the poles and bring cold water back toward the equator.
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Ocean Currents Ocean waters are constantly on the move. How they move influences climate and living conditions for plants and animals, even on land. Currents flow in complex patterns affected by wind, the water's salinity and heat content, bottom topography, and the earth's rotation.
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How do ocean currents affect climate and aquatic life? Currents and Marine Life. Currents are powerful physical forces in the seas. They move water and heat around the globe, and help determine the chemical make-up of the water column. Currents also are a major factor in ocean ecosystems. Two types of current motion, upwelling and downwelling, strongly influence the distribution and abundance of marine life. Upwelling Currents play a huge role in marine productivity, through a process called upwelling. Sea life is concentrated in the sunlit waters near the surface, but most organic matter is far below, in deep waters and on the sea floor. When currents upwell, or flow up to the surface from beneath, they sweep vital nutrients back to where they're needed most.
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Currents Oceanic currents are driven by several factors. One is the rise and fall of the tides, which is driven by the gravitational attraction of the sun and moon on Earth's oceans. Tides create a current in the oceans, near the shore, and in bays and estuaries along the coast. These are called tidal currents..
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- Changes in the density set these currents in motion. Some ocean currents are set in motion by the wind. Other ocean currents are created by something. you can’t see or feel. Differences in the density of water can also cause currents to form and move. Density is affected by temperature and salinity. Cold water or water with dissolved salts (higher. salinity) is denser than warm water or water without dissolved salts (low or no salinity). For. example, at the same temperature (20 o C) the density of salt water is 1.025 g/ml and fresh water. 0.998 g/ml.
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Ocean Currents The Types and Causes of Ocean Currents. In addition to their varying size and strength, ocean currents differ in type. They can be either surface or deep water. Surface currents are those found in the upper 400 meters (1,300 feet) of the ocean and make up about 10% of all the water in the ocean. Surface currents are mostly caused by the wind because it creates friction as it moves over the water. This friction then forces the water to move in a spiral pattern, creating gyres.
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- The ocean's waters are constantly being moved about by powerful currents. Surface currents are largely wind-driven, although the rotation of the earth, the presence of continents, and the oceans' internal dynamics also have a strong influence.
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Ocean Currents and Climate Deep ocean currents are density-driven and differ from surface currents in scale, speed, and energy. Water density is affected by the temperature, salinity (saltiness), and depth of the water. The colder and saltier the ocean water, the denser it is.
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Surface Ocean Currents Surface Ocean Currents. The water at the ocean surface is moved primarily by winds that blow in certain patterns because of the Earth s spin and the Coriolis Effect. Winds are able to move the top 400 meters of the ocean creating surface ocean currents. Surface ocean currents form large circular patterns called gyres. Gyres flow clockwise in Northern Hemisphere oceans and counterclockwise in Southern Hemisphere oceans because of the Coriolis Effect. creating surface ocean currents. Near the Earth s poles, gyres tend to flow in the opposite direction. Surface ocean currents flow in a regular pattern, but they are not all the same.
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Ocean current Ocean current. An ocean current is any more or less permanent or continuous, directed movement of ocean water that flows in one of the Earth's oceans. The currents are generated from the forces acting upon the water like the earth's rotation, the wind, the temperature and salinity differences and the gravitation of the moon. The depth contours, the shoreline and other currents influence the current's direction and strength.
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Ocean currents can be generated by wind, density differences in water masses caused by temperature and salinity variations, gravity, and events such as earthquakes. Currents may also be generated by density differences in water masses caused by temperature and salinity variations. These currents move water masses through the deep ocean—taking nutrients, oxygen, and heat with them. Occasional events also trigger serious currents. Huge storms move water masses.cean currents can be generated by wind, density differences in water masses caused by temperature and salinity variations, gravity, and events such as earthquakes. Currents are cohesive streams of seawater that circulate through the ocean.
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Ocean currents can be generated by wind, density differences in water masses caused by temperature and salinity variations, gravity, and events such as earthquakes. Currents may also be generated by density differences in water masses caused by temperature and salinity variations. These currents move water masses through the deep ocean—taking nutrients, oxygen, and heat with them. Occasional events also trigger serious currents. Huge storms move water masses.urrents may also be generated by density differences in water masses caused by temperature and salinity variations. These currents move water masses through the deep ocean—taking nutrients, oxygen, and heat with them. Occasional events also trigger serious currents. Huge storms move water masses.
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earth science The increased salt concentration increases the surface water's density, causing it to sink. This in turn causes the upwelling of cooler waters that are then warmed by the sun, and the cycle continues. Forces linked to the Earth's rotation also govern the direction of currents. These Coriolis forces cause ocean currents to move clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
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Ocean currents can be generated by wind, density differences in water masses caused by temperature and salinity variations, gravity, and events such as earthquakes. Surface currents are generated largely by wind. Their patterns are determined by wind direction, Coriolis forces from the Earth’s rotation, and the position of landforms that interact with the currents. Surface wind-driven currents generate upwelling currents in conjunction with landforms, creating deepwater currents. Currents may also be generated by density differences in water masses caused by temperature and salinity variations. These currents move water masses through the deep ocean—taking nutrients, oxygen, and heat with them. Occasional events also trigger serious currents. Huge storms move water masses.
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Ocean Current Energy Technologies are being developed so that energy that can be extracted from ocean currents and converted to usable power. Ocean waters are constantly on the move. Ocean currents flow in complex patterns affected by wind, water salinity, temperature, topography of the ocean floor, and the earth's rotation.