definition of surface ocean currents
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earth science Definitions of ocean current. 1. (oceanography) a warm ocean current that flows along the equator from the date line and south off the coast of Ecuador at Christmas time. any of the ocean currents that flow westward at the equator.
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- 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.
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Ocean current An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of seawater generated by forces acting upon this mean flow, such as breaking waves, wind, the Coriolis effect, cabbeling, temperature and salinity differences, while tides are caused by the gravitational pull of the Sun and Moon.cean currents flow for great distances, and together, create the global conveyor belt which plays a dominant role in determining the climate of many of the Earth ’s regions. More specifically, ocean currents influence the temperature of the regions through which they travel.
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Wind Driven Surface Currents: Western Boundary Currents Background Transport of surface waters toward the western boundary of the ocean basins causes the ocean-surface slope to be steeper on the western side (versus eastern side) of a gyre (in either hemisphere). A steeper ocean-surface slope translates into a faster geostrophic flow on that side of the gyre.ings. Upwelling and Downwelling. Ocean Conveyer Belt. Surface currents located on the western side of the subtropical gyres, so-called western boundary currents, are faster than their eastern counterparts. In fact, they are among the fastest surface currents in the ocean.
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Subsurface currents An entirely different class of subsurface current is caused by friction with surface currents and objects. When the wind or some other surface force compels surface currents into motion, some of this is translated into subsurface motion.
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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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Ocean surface wave Ocean surface wave. Ocean surface waves are surface waves that occur at the surface of an ocean. They usually result from distant winds or geologic effects and may travel thousands of miles before striking land. They range in size from small ripples to huge tsunamis.
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Facts About Ocean Currents The remaining 90 percent of the ocean moves with deep water currents. Deep water is different from surface water in two distinct ways. Deep water is much colder than surface waters, and deep water has a higher salt content. When salty water from a warm region is transported to a region that is cold, it tends to sink.
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Ocean current Surface currents are found on the surface of an ocean, and are driven by large scale wind currents. They are directly affected by the wind—the Coriolis effect plays a role in their behaviors.
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- 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.urface 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.
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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.
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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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(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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Ocean Currents They can be either surface or deep water. Because 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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Ocean Currents Large quantities of heat can be absorbed and stored in the surface layers of the ocean. This heat is transported by ocean currents. In this way, the ocean currents help regulate Earth's climate by facilitating the transfer of heat from warm tropical areas to colder areas near the poles. The water of the ocean surface moves in a regular pattern called surface ocean currents. On this map, warm currents are shown in red and cold currents are shown in blue. Image Credit: Windows to the Universe. The global wind patterns cause the surface currents to form in the uppers layer of the ocean.
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Ocean Circulation: Surface Water and Deep Water Recall from Lesson 3 that water density increases with increasing salinity and decreasing temperature. Water density varies throughout the ocean and the water at the bottom of the ocean is densest, of course. Ocean-atmosphere interactions have important implications for global ocean currents. For example, think about what would happen if a large scale surface current continually lost heat. The colder it got the denser the water would be, and eventually that water would become dense enough to sink, and become deep water.
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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. 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.
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- These are called ocean currents. In short, they constitute a large mass of water flowing along a fixed path on the surface of the ocean. A current may be swift with a speed of up to 10 km/hr, or it may be broad and slow moving at an average speed of 2 km/hr, in which case it is called ocean drift.
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Wind Driven Surface Currents: Upwelling and Downwelling Background Hence, westward-flowing, wind-driven surface currents near the equator turn northward on the north side of the equator and southward on the south side. Surface waters are moved away from the equator and replaced by upwelling waters. Equatorial upwelling.
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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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- Coastal currents are intricately tied to winds, waves, and land formations. Winds that blow along the shoreline—longshore winds—affect waves and, therefore, currents. Before one can understand any type of surface current, one must understand how wind and waves operate.
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Ocean current A map of all the large ocean currents of the world. All the world's currents on a continuous ocean map. An ocean current is a continuous movement of ocean water from one place to another. Ocean currents are created by wind, water temperature, salt content, and the gravity of the moon.The current's direction and speed depend on the shoreline and the ocean floor.ne major example of an ocean current is the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean. Ocean currents can be found on the water surface and deeper down. 1  Currents on the surface often depend on wind. 2  They travel clockwise in the northern hemisphere. 3  They travel counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere.
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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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Science Lesson 25 Currents Surface current: Occur near the surface and move horizontally. Surface currents are caused by global winds. An example of a surface current is the Gulf Stream. Deep current: Occurs deep in the ocean and is influence by water density, salinity, and temperature. An example of a deep current is the Antarctic Bottom Water.
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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.