What causes a current in the ocean. Ocean current 2022-10-12
What causes a current in the ocean Rating:
7,2/10
743
reviews
There are several factors that can cause a current in the ocean. These include:
Wind: One of the most common causes of ocean currents is wind. When the wind blows across the surface of the ocean, it can create currents that can travel for long distances. These currents, known as wind-driven currents, can be either surface currents or deep currents. Surface currents are driven by the friction between the wind and the surface of the water, while deep currents are driven by the difference in density between the warm, salty water at the surface and the cold, fresh water at depth.
Temperature and salinity: Another factor that can cause ocean currents is the difference in temperature and salinity between different parts of the ocean. Water expands as it warms and contracts as it cools, so when there is a difference in temperature between two areas of the ocean, it can cause a current to flow between them. Similarly, when there is a difference in salinity between two areas of the ocean, it can also cause a current to flow.
Gravitational forces: The gravitational forces of the sun and moon can also cause ocean currents. The tides, which are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and sun, can create currents that flow in and out of bays and estuaries. These tides can be particularly strong in areas where the ocean is shallow and the land is narrow, such as in the Strait of Gibraltar or the English Channel.
Earth's rotation: Finally, the rotation of the Earth can also cause ocean currents. The Coriolis effect, which is caused by the Earth's rotation, can deflect the path of an ocean current, causing it to curve to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. This can affect the direction and strength of ocean currents, particularly in the open ocean.
Overall, the causes of ocean currents are complex and varied, with a range of physical, chemical, and meteorological factors contributing to their formation. Understanding these causes is important for a range of applications, including predicting the movement of marine animals, forecasting weather patterns, and managing the transportation of goods and resources across the ocean.
What Causes Oceanic Currents?
Distribution of Ocean Currents Arctic Ocean Baffin Island Current Beaufort Gyre East Greenland Current East Iceland Current Labrador Current North Icelandic Jet Norwegian Current Transpolar Drift Stream West Greenland Current West Spitsbergen Current Atlantic Ocean Angola Current Antilles Current Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Azores Current Benguela Current Brazil Current Canary Current Cape Horn Current Caribbean Current East Greenland Current East Iceland Current Equatorial Counter Current Falkland Current Florida Current Guinea Current Gulf Stream Irminger Current Labrador Current Lomonosov Current Loop Current North Atlantic Current North Brazil Current North Equatorial Current Norwegian Current Portugal Current South Atlantic Current South Equatorial Current West Greenland Current West Spitsbergen Current Indian Ocean Agulhas Current Agulhas Return Current East Madagascar Current Equatorial Counter Current Indian Monsoon Current Indonesian Throughflow Leeuwin Current Madagascar Current Mozambique Current North Madagascar Somali Current South Equatorial Current Southwest Madagascar Coastal Current West Australian Current Pacific Ocean Alaska Current Aleutian Current California Current Cape Horn Current Cromwell Current Davidson Current East Australian Current East Korea Warm Current Equatorial Counter Current Humboldt Current Indonesian Throughflow Kamchatka Current Kuroshio Current Mindanao Current Mindanao Eddy North Equatorial Current North Korea Cold Current North Pacific Current Oyashio Current South Equatorial Current Subtropical Counter current Tasman Front Tasman Outflow Antarctic Ocean Antarctic Circumpolar Current Tasman Outflow The key point to clear an exam lies in methodical and planned preparation. In the equatorial belt, temperatures are high and therefore As a result, the warm waters of the equatorial region drift towards the higher Salinity of the waters It is generally noted that waters of high salinity tend to flow to areas of low salinity e. All these movements create the Global Conveyer Belt. F Fog and Storm: Due to the variation of warm and cool ocean currents and for a change of temperature in a small space, Fog and storms are seen at the confluence of the warm and cold ocean currents. Due to this, warm and moist air rise into the atmosphere and create a low-pressure area. They are a continuous general movement of masses of surface ocean waters horizontally and in a fairly defined direction. Because of so many changes of solar radiation, lower latitudes have more energy than the higher latitudes from the sun.
Differential heating occurs when the earth leans and rotates around the sun that heats the globe year long. Winds, water density, and tides all drive ocean currents. When the salinity of Ocean water becomes high, its density also increases. The Coriolis effect determines the direction and flow of the gyres. What causes surface currents to move? Horizontal surface currents are local and short term. To maintain the temperature of the ocean, the water of the warm region flows toward the cold region.
What makes ocean currents flow? Extremely large quantities of energy are stored in the uppermost 100 meters of the global oceans, and surface ocean currents redistribute this energy from one part of the ocean to another, carrying it from zones of excess energy to those with an energy deficit. There are two factors that affect the growth of waves: pressure and shear effects. This factor caused by the total of salt in a body of water and its temperature. Ocean currents are also influenced by other factors like the shape and configuration of the ocean basin they flow through, rotation of the earth, gravity, earthquakes, storms etc. Cold Ocean currents: Cold ocean currents are large masses of cold water that move towards the equator. Differences in temperature ocean currents may be caused by differences in Such currents are generally referred to as convection currents. Surface currents are also driven by global wind systems fueled by energy from the sun.
Oceanic currents are occurred by several factors. Example: a Falkland ocean current: A tributary of the Arctic current runs along with the Falkland Islands along the east coast of South America and flows slightly northward, called the Falkland ocean current. Due to these reasons, New Falkland and Japan are foggy almost all around the year. Example: a Brazil current:The South branch of the Benguela Current and the south equatorial current flows along the east coast of Brazil, called the Brazil current, and reunites with the Antarctic current. A recent study says the Atlantic Ocean affects rainfall in the Western Hemisphere. It occurs in the North Atlantic Deep Water and Antarctic Bottom Water region. To remind us that generalized models are just that, we include a numeric model of actual ocean currents, whose squiggly lines bring to mind the style of painter Vincent van Gogh.
The Coastal seaports of Norway, Canada, etc. Most ocean currents drift very slowly and that is why they are commonly referred to as drifts. Our team of experts provide short and precise video classes which helps in learning the concepts. The horizontal motion of Ocean water refers to currents and waves whereas the vertical motion refers to tides. Then it bents to the north and flows down along with the Chile coast by the name of Peru current.
This water in turn transfers some of its momentum to waters just below the surface, setting up an overall shearing of the water column, with the strongest shear force depicted by arrows at the surface. As you thought about likely directions of currents, you probably realized that eventually any current that flows east or west will at some point run into a continent — the 3. Ocean currents create circular patterns within the ocean due to barriers such as continents and the equator. On the other hand, we also discussed the formation of tidal flows. Here the ocean current flows from the cold region to the warm region through the lower part of the seawater.
Surface of Ocean currents: When an ocean current flows from a warmer region to a cold region, it flows relatively through the upper part of the seawater. It branches up, one stream going towards the east coast of Africa and the other travels further east, around Australia and up north through the east of the Philippines. Types of Ocean Currents Ocean currents are classified into two depending on the layer of the ocean where they occur and the environmental factors that influence them. These are called gyres. This air reaches a certain cold temperature, it sinks and a high-pressure area is created.
There are five significant gyres within the seas — the North and South Atlantic subtropical gyres, the North and South Pacific subtropical gyres and the Indian Ocean subtropical gyre. This results in a phenomena, specific to bluff bodies, called the vortex shedding. It keeps flowing in the same direction until other factors influence its direction and speed, such as meeting a landmass or another ocean current. How Ocean Currents Work And How We Are Breaking Them Categories Tags Post navigation. What is Ocean Current? This ocean current is known as the cold west Australian current. These currents cause both horizontal and vertical water movement.
This means that the Mediterranean Sea is made up of waters of high salinity and therefore flows into relatively less saline waters of the Atlantic Ocean while the under current flows in the opposite direction. These currents are influenced by several forces that act to propel the water, both on the surface and in deep ocean waters. This impact will cause water to flow in different directions. What Causes Currents In The Ocean? Our approach shows how vertical and horizontal tidal forces causing the sea level fluctuations. These currents transfer heat from the tropics to the polar regions, influencing local and global climate. What are the 3 major ocean currents? Note that this happens with winds from the opposite direction from the Northern Hemisphere. These types are discussed below: 1.
They flow in the opposite direction from which the opposite currents are flowing. The grand movement of the Ocean currents are …show more content… The different types of currents are referred to the surface or thermohaline that depends on their depth. It forms when the air of the subtropical high region blows over a cold mass of water, and the cold air is stretched out to the equator. Britannica Quiz In the tropics the great clockwise and counterclockwise Other smaller current systems found in certain enclosed seas or ocean areas are less affected by wind-driven circulation and more influenced by the direction of water inflow. The sun heats perpendicularly at the equator. Coriolis effect: The earth rotates from West to East. Ocean currents influence the temperature of the region through which they travel.
