Introduction to Ocean Currents
What is a current?
> a body of waer moving in a specific direction
Gulf Stream?
> A slow moving current
Eddy?
> Small currents
Surface Circulation?
> Driven by wind
Deep Circulation?
> Driven by density
Gyre?
> A spinning circulation
Gravity Currents?
> When gravity pulls water down
Longshore Currents?
> water comes in at an angle pushing water toward the shore
Rip Currents?
> a relatively strong, narrow current flowing outward from the beach through the surf zone and presenting a hazard to swimmers
Upwelling Currents?
> deep water is pulled up as surface water moves away from land
Global Conveyor Belt?
> Deep current travel causing the ocean to move around
Thermohaline?
> The ocean consists almost entirely of water and salt. The {density} of ocean water depends on both temperature (T) and salinity (S)
Coriolis Effect?
> an inertial force described by the 19th-century French engineer-mathematician Gustave-Gaspard Coriolis in 1835. Coriolis showed that, if the ordinary Newtonian laws of motion of bodies are to be used in a rotating frame of reference, an inertial force--acting to the right of the direction of body motion for counterclockwise rotation of the reference frame or to the left for clockwise rotation--must be included in the equations of motion
Summary:
Why are currents important?
> Currents are important because withot it, there would be no waves or tides. The ocean would be very still.
> a body of waer moving in a specific direction
Gulf Stream?
> A slow moving current
Eddy?
> Small currents
Surface Circulation?
> Driven by wind
Deep Circulation?
> Driven by density
Gyre?
> A spinning circulation
Gravity Currents?
> When gravity pulls water down
Longshore Currents?
> water comes in at an angle pushing water toward the shore
Rip Currents?
> a relatively strong, narrow current flowing outward from the beach through the surf zone and presenting a hazard to swimmers
Upwelling Currents?
> deep water is pulled up as surface water moves away from land
Global Conveyor Belt?
> Deep current travel causing the ocean to move around
Thermohaline?
> The ocean consists almost entirely of water and salt. The {density} of ocean water depends on both temperature (T) and salinity (S)
Coriolis Effect?
> an inertial force described by the 19th-century French engineer-mathematician Gustave-Gaspard Coriolis in 1835. Coriolis showed that, if the ordinary Newtonian laws of motion of bodies are to be used in a rotating frame of reference, an inertial force--acting to the right of the direction of body motion for counterclockwise rotation of the reference frame or to the left for clockwise rotation--must be included in the equations of motion
Summary:
Why are currents important?
> Currents are important because withot it, there would be no waves or tides. The ocean would be very still.