How do currents move across the equator?

How do currents move across the equator?

In the Northern Hemisphere, for example, predictable winds called trade winds blow from east to west just above the equator. 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.

How do the currents move?

Ocean currents are driven by wind, water density differences, and tides. Oceanic currents describe the movement of water from one location to another. Currents are generally measured in meters per second or in knots (1 knot = 1.85 kilometers per hour or 1.15 miles per hour).

Do ocean currents move towards the equator?

Ocean surface currents are produced by major overall patterns of atmospheric circulation, the Coriolis Effect and the shape of each ocean basin. Ocean surface circulation brings warm equatorial waters towards the poles and cooler polar water towards the equator.

What are the two main factors that affect deep ocean 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 are the two main reasons for the development of ocean currents?

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 4 factors that create ocean currents?

Four Factors That Create Ocean Currents

• Wind. Wind is the single biggest factor in the creation of surface currents.
• Water Density. Another major factor in the creation of currents is water density, caused by the amount of salt in a body of water, and its temperature.
• Ocean Bottom Topography.
• Coriolis Effect.

What are the two main categories of ocean currents?

There are two type of Ocean Currents:

• Surface Currents–Surface Circulation.
• Deep Water Currents–Thermohaline Circulation.
• Primary Forces–start the water moving.
• The primary forces are:
• Secondary Forces–influence where the currents flow.
• Solar heating cause water to expand.

What directly influences Deepwater currents?

Deepwater currents are dependent on temperature and salinity. What is the difference between upwelling and downwelling? Upwelling brings cold water to the surface; downwelling brings warm water to the bottom of the ocean.

What are characteristics of surface currents?

Surface ocean currents flow in a regular pattern, but they are not all the same. Some currents are deep and narrow. Other currents are shallow and wide. Currents are often affected by the shape of the ocean floor.

How deep do surface currents go?

These are winds that drive the system of surface currents in the ocean. Surface currents are only 50 to 100 meters deep (Table 3.1). Though shallow, they are extremely important in determining the world’s weather and climates, and in distributing the ocean’s heat and nutrients.

Which ocean current determines weather changes?

Answer: The Gulf Stream determines climate change. Thermohaline circulation occurs due to the difference in the temperatures, densities, and salinities of the waters, and determines climate changes.

What is the cause of surface currents?

Surface currents are caused mainly by winds but not daily winds. Surface currents are caused by the major wind belts. These winds blow in the same direction all the time. So they can keep water moving in the same direction.

What causes geostrophic currents?

Simple explanation. Sea water naturally tends to move from a region of high pressure (or high sea level) to a region of low pressure (or low sea level). The Coriolis force acts at right angles to the flow, and when it balances the pressure gradient force, the resulting flow is known as geostrophic.

Does Coriolis effect affect bullets?

The Coriolis phenomenon affects the flight of a bullet in the Northern Hemisphere so that when firing north or south, the bullet sways to the right and in the Southern Hemisphere to the left. The more your firing line is in the east-west direction, the less the effect of the Coriolis.

Does the Earth’s rotation affect planes?

The rotation of the Earth has no direct significant effect on flight times in either direction. That’s to a first order approximation. As others have already said, since the Earth’s surface is (very nearly) spherical and is rotating rather than moving linearly, Coriolis effects can be significant.