surface ocean currents move:

warm and cold water around the globe

ocean currents are driven by a combination of:

temperature, gravity, prevailing winds, the Coriolis effect, and the locations of continents

Warm water, like warm air...

expands and rises

ocean currents affect:

primary productivity

gyre

A large-scale pattern of water circulation that moves clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere

winds in the northern, mid-latitude region push water from the southwest:

to the northeast

ocean currents near the mid-latitude and equator rotate

clockwise in the northern hemisphere

ocean currents rotate counterclockwise:

in the southern hemisphere

where the clockwise ocean currents in the northern hemisphere meet and counterclockwise ocean currents in the southern hemisphere meet it is called:

an equatorial current

ocean currents (gyres) redistribute heat back into:

the atmosphere

cold water in the polar regions moves along the west coast of the continents and it brings:

cold air immediately above to the warmer waters resulting in cooler temperatures

the california current flows:

south from the North pacific along the coast of California

the california current causes coastal areas of california to:

have cooler temperatures than areas at similar latitudes on the east coast of the united states

warm water from the tropics moves along the east coasts of continents:

the warm air immediately above these waters causes warmer temperatures on land

upwelling

the upward movement of ocean water toward the surface as a result of diverging currents (seperate from one another)

upwelling in ocean currents explains why some regions of the ocean:

highly productive ecosystems

when surface currents diverge, they:

separate from one another, causing deeper waters to rise and replace the water that has moved away

the deeps waters bring nutrients from the ocean bottom that supports:

large populations of producers. in turn the producers, support large populations of fish that have long been important to commercial fisheries.

areas with upwelling predict that there is going to be a high population with:

fish and fisheries

deep ocean currents circulate ocean water:

over a long period of time

thermohaline circulation

an oceanic circulation pattern that drives the mixing of surface water and deep water

thermohaline circulation appears to be driven by:

surface waters that contain unusually large amounts of salt

scientists believe thermohaline circulation is an crucial process for:

moving heat and nutrients around the globe

El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

A reversal of wind and water currents in the South Pacific

climate change could potentially disrupt which of the following phenomenon?:

thermohaline circulation

the el nino southern oscillation is caused by a shift in:

ocean currents

how is el nino causes?:

trade winds that would normally push air into south america and push surface waters to the west weaken and reverse direction. -the change in the wind allows warm equator water from the western pacific to move east towards south america

the movement of warm water and air from el nino towards south america supresses:

the upwelling that would normally happen in this area for a few week

El Nino has consequences since

ocean currents are crucial to climate

consequences of el nino:

reduces the upwelling that goes off of the south american coast, which decreases the productivity, which dramatically reduces the fish population-causes southeastern regions in the united states to have a wetter condition when they are usually dry

the el nino southern oscillation is the:

weakening of the tradewinds near south america

the weaking of tradewinds caused by el nino allows:

warm equatorial water from western pacific to move eastward toward the west coast of south america

the movement of warm water and air toward South America suppresses upwelling off the coast of Peru which causes:

a decrease in productivity, which reduces fish populations near the coast

these periodic changes in wind and ocean currents are collectively called:

the el nino southern oscillation (ENSO)