what is the primary driving force of surface ocean currents
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Earth Science Exam 4 10/ Wind is the primary source of surface ocean currents. The Coriolis effect influences currents. This is due to earth's rotation, currents are deflected to the right of the northern hemisphere and to the left of the southern. As a consequence, gyres flow in opposite directions in the two different hemispheres.
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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. Underwater earthquakes may trigger devastating tsunamis. Both move masses of water inland when they reach shallow water and coastlines.
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How Ocean Currents Work How Ocean Currents Work. Circular wind patterns create five major gyres at the ocean's surface. As you've probably gathered by now, wind and water are inseparable. To understand surface ocean currents, which, as their name suggests, occur in the open ocean, you should know a little about the winds that fuel them. Some of these wind patterns are caused by the Coriolis force. If the earth didn't rotate, wind would travel the globe in straight lines.
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What are the causes and effects of ocean currents? The following factors cause ocean currents: (a) The prevailing winds are the major cause of the ocean waters moving in a definite direction. The pushing action of these winds makes the waters flow as they do. Like the planetary winds, currents too are deflected from their original path due to the rotation of the Earth.
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Tide-Generating Forces Background Open-Ocean Tides. The tide-generating force is produced by the combination of (1) the gravitational attraction between Earth and the moon and sun, and (2) the rotation of the Earth-moon and Earth-sun systems.
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What two forces primarily drive deep ocean currents? A. winds and salinity B. winds and temperature C. temperature and salinity D. wind and Earth's rotation The best answer is C. Deep ocean currents are driven by differences in the water's density, which is controlled by temperature (thermo) and salinity(haline). This process is called thermohaline circulation. In the earth's polar region, ocean water gets very cold forming sea ice.
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- • Surface currents are driven mainly by winds • Deep currents are driven mainly by differences in density NOW, you will learn • How waves form • How waves move energy through water • How wave action changes near the shore • How waves can cause currents near the shore KEY CONCEPT Waves move through oceans. EXPLORE Waves
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(q). Surface and Subsurface Ocean Currents Surface Ocean Currents An ocean current can be defined as a horizontal movement of seawater at the ocean's surface. Ocean currents are driven by the circulation of wind above surface waters. Frictional stress at the interface between the ocean and the wind causes the water to move in the direction of the wind.Large ocean currents are a response of the atmosphere and ocean to the flow of energy from the tropics to polar regions.n either side of the equator, in all ocean basins, there are two west flowing currents: the North and South Equatorial (Figure 8q-1) . These currents flow between 3 and 6 kilometers per day and usually extend 100 to 200 meters in depth below the ocean surface.
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Currents Thermohaline Circulation. Winds drive ocean currents in the upper 100 meters of the ocean’s surface. However, ocean currents also flow thousands of meters below the surface. These deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in the water’s density, which is controlled by temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline).This process is known as thermohaline circulation. In the Earth's polar regions ocean water gets very cold, forming sea ice.owever, ocean currents also flow thousands of meters below the surface. These deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in the water’s density, which is controlled by temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline). This process is known as thermohaline circulation.
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- • The sun is the major source of energy that drives wind and ocean currents. • Surface currents and deep currents form convection currents that move ocean. water. Why It Matters. Earth’s ocean plays an important role in the transfer of both matter and energy around. Earth’s surface.
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- The oceans' surface currents are controlled by global winds, the Coriolis effect ( Earth's rotation causes surface currents to move in curved paths), and continental deflections.
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What major driving force behind winds, ocean currents, and the global water cycle is? Solar energy drives all of the factors that you mentioned. The sun's heating causes evaporation of water from the ocean. The sun's heating at the equator causes the changes in density that result in currents. The sun's heating of the atmosphere causes the changes in air temperature that change the density of the air that result in winds. Sydney D · 6 years ago.
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Currents Because the Earth rotates on its axis, circulating air is deflected toward the right in the Northern Hemisphere and toward the left in the Southern Hemisphere. This deflection is called the Coriolis effect. Click the image for a larger view. Coastal currents are affected by local winds. Surface ocean currents, which occur on the open ocean, are driven by a complex global wind system.
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What are the factors influencing ocean current circulation? The four factors that cause ocean currents: (1) Planet rotation, (2) Wind, (3) Density of the water (depends on temperature and salinity), and (4) Gravitation of the moon and earth. Direction and strength depends on the shape of the shoreline, depth and shape of the bottom, and other currents.
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Surface Ocean Currents Surface ocean currents can create eddies, swirling loops of water, as they flow. Surface ocean currents can also affect upwelling in many places. They are important for sailors planning routes through the ocean. Currents are also important for marine life because they transport creatures around the world and affect the water temperature in ecosystems.
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How the NFL makes the most money of any pro sport SHARES. The NFL scores big bucks every Sunday. According to IEG, the National Football League and its 32 teams raked in a record-setting $1.07 billion in sponsorship revenue for the 2013 season, an increase of 5.7 percent over the 2012 season.ead More NFL ownership shakeups. Either way, that's just a fraction of the money that's available to mint on any (and all) given NFL Sundays. In 2010, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell went on the record to say that he expects the NFL to achieve $25 billion in annual revenue by 2027.
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What causes ocean waves and currents? Ocean tides are caused by the gravitation of the Moon. Currents can be formed by the flow of tidal water around the continental plates, or by a difference in water temperature between large ocean areas. Surface waves are caused by the wind. Abnormal waves can be created by the tectonic movement of plates around and under the ocean floor (tsunamis).
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- 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. Surface water movement takes place in the form of currents.Currents move ocean water horizontally at the ocean's surface. Surface currents are driven mainly by the wind. Other forces such as the Coriolis effect and the location of landmasses do affect surface current patterns.The Coriolis Effect explains how the earth's spin causes the wind to curve.ow 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. Surface water movement takes place in the form of currents.
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What is a current? This is a process driven by density differences in water due to temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline) variations in different parts of the ocean. Currents driven by thermohaline circulation occur at both deep and shallow ocean levels and move much slower than tidal or surface currents. Currents affect the Earth's climate by driving warm water from the Equator and cold water from the poles around the Earth. The warm Gulf Stream, for instance, brings milder winter weather to Bergen, Norway, than to New York, much further south.
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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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Marine Biodiversity Wiki Surface Ocean Currents 1 2 3 4. Global winds drag on the water’s surface, causing it to move and build up in the direction that the wind is blowing.
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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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Currents and Factors that affect surface currents-Drake Transcript of Currents and Factors that affect surface currents-Drake. The water in the ocean moves in giant streams called Currents. Surface Currents are currents that move at or near the surface of the ocean, they are driven by wind. Colder, denser air sinks and forms areas of high pressure. Air moves from higher pressure areas, to lower pressure areas. This movements gives rise to wind, because wind is moving air, wind has kinetic energy.
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- As it cools, it begins to sink, and the process begins again. Convection results in the continual circulation of ocean water on a global scale. There are many factors that determine the strength of a current, as well as the route it will follow. Winds have the most important influence on the flow of currents, but tides, precipitation, evaporation rates, shape of the ocean floor, and inflow from rivers and adjacent seas are also important.
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Ocean Currents The third major factor that determines the direction of surface currents is the shape of ocean basins (Figure 14.15). When a surface current collides with land, it changes the direction of the currents. Imagine pushing the water in a bathtub towards the end of the tub.
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- Surface ocean currents are also driven by an effect caused by Earth's rotation on its axis known as the Coriolis effect. The rotation of Earth acts to turn or deflect prevailing winds clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, which deflects the surface currents.