What causes surface currents quizlet?
What causes surface currents to move? It is caused by wind action, Earth's spin, and the shape of the continents. Also, the speed, direction, and volume of water can be affected by the uneven heating of the atmosphere. The force of wind blowing over the top of the Earth.
What three things cause surface currents?
Surface currents are controlled by three factors: global winds, the Coriolis effect, and continental deflections. surface create surface currents in the ocean. Different winds cause currents to flow in different directions. objects from a straight path due to the Earth's rotation.
What causes surface currents and deep currents?
Deep currents are driven by temperature and water density/salinity. Of course, deep currents impact surface currents, which carry warm water to the poles. Surface currents are also driven by global wind systems fueled by energy from the sun. Factors like wind direction and the Coriolis effect play a role.
What causes surface currents for kids?
Surface currents are caused mainly by wind blowing across the surface of the water and the friction causing waves. Deep water currents are caused by many things, such as temperature changes, salinity, gravity, and density. Deep water currents are also one factor in weather climates.
What is a surface current?
(′sər·fəs ‚kə·rənt) (oceanography) Water movement which extends to depths of 3-10 feet (1-3 meters) below the surface in nearshore areas, and to about 33 feet (10 meters) in deep-ocean areas. Any current whose maximum velocity core is at or near the surface.
Which factor causes surface ocean currents quizlet?
Wind direction, the spin of Earth, and differences in temperature contribute to currents. Currents occur at the surface of and deep within the ocean. The Coriolis effect contributes to the direction of current flow. Wind direction, the spin of Earth, and differences in temperature contribute to currents.
What causes surface ocean currents to curve?
The winds pull surface water with them, creating currents. As these currents flow westward, the Coriolis effect—a force that results from the rotation of the Earth—deflects them. The currents then bend to the right, heading north.
How currents are formed?
When the wind blows persistently in a particular direction, the wind stress on the sea surface causes the water in the upper layer to move bodily and a current is thereby formed. These wind-induced currents may be permanent in regions of strong prevailing winds but they do not flow in the same direction as the wind.
How do surface currents move?
Surface currents are powered by the sun and driven by the wind. The sun drives the global wind systems on Earth. When this wind blows over the surface of the ocean, it causes waves to form and the water at the surface to move. The force of the wind pushing on the water results in what are known as surface currents.
Where do surface ocean currents occur?
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.
What causes ocean currents quizlet?
A directional movement of ocean water; surface currents result from steady winds over the ocean surface; deep ocean currents result from density variations due to temperature and salinity differences.
Which factors cause the ocean currents?
Oceanic currents are driven by three main factors:
- 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. …
- Wind. Winds drive currents that are at or near the ocean's surface. …
- Thermohaline circulation.
Feb 26, 2021
What is an ocean surface current?
Ocean surface currents tend to form ring-like circulation systems called gyres. A gyre is a circular ocean current formed by a combination of the prevailing winds, the rotation of the Earth, and landmasses. Continents interfere with the movement of both surface winds and currents.
What is a surface current quizlet?
surface currents. ocean currents that occur at or near the surface of the ocean, caused by wind.
How are currents formed?
Ocean currents can be caused by wind, density differences in water masses caused by temperature and salinity variations, gravity, and events such as earthquakes or storms. Currents are cohesive streams of seawater that circulate through the ocean.
What are the causes of origin of ocean currents?
Causes of Ocean Currents
- Solar heating. it causes water to expand. …
- Wind. The Wind is responsible for ocean currents as it blows the water on the surface, causing the currents. …
- Gravity. Gravity tends to pull items towards the surface of the earth. …
- The salinity of the water. …
- Temperature. …
- Coriolis effect. …
- Underwater earthquakes.