E.Q.: How do wind patterns, the rotation of the Earth, and continental barriers affect surface ocean currents?
STANDARDS:
SES5. Students will investigate the interaction of insolation and Earth systems to produce weather and climate.
a. Explain how latitudinal variations in solar heating create atmospheric and ocean currents that redistribute heat globally.
Objectives
Describe how wind patterns, the rotation of Earth, and continental barriers affect surface currents in the ocean.
Identify the major factor that determines the direction in which a surface current circulates.
Explain how differences in the density of ocean water affect the flow of deep currents.
Ocean Currents
current in geology - a horizontal movement of water in a well-defined pattern, such as a river or stream
Oceanographers identify ocean currents by studying the physical and chemical characteristics of the ocean water.
Scientists place ocean currents into two major categories: surface currents and deep currents.
US scientists discovered two giant whirlpools in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Guyana and Suriname. It became a sensational discovery because this part of the ocean has been studied thoroughly, and no one expected anything like that to appear in the area. More importantly, no one can understand where the whirlpools came from and what surprises they may bring to people.
According to Brazilian scientist Guilherme Castellane, the two funnels are approximately 400 kilometers in diameter. Until now, these were not known on Earth. The funnels reportedly exert a strong influence on climate changes that have been registered during the recent years.
