Causes of Currents Gyres Ekman Transport Adrien Aguilar

Causes of Currents, Gyres, Ekman Transport Adrien Aguilar, Alexander Rodriguez, Lianne Montenegro, Rebecca Bayol

Currents An ocean current is any more or less permanent or continuous, directed movement of ocean water that flows in one of the Earth's oceans. The currents are generated from the forces acting upon the water like the earth's rotation, the wind, the temperature and salinity differences and the gravitation of the moon. As currents move water masses through the deep ocean, it takes nutrients, oxygen, and heat along with it.

Causes of Currents As currents move water masses through the deep ocean, it takes nutrients, oxygen, and heat along with it. Surface currents are generated largely by wind, density differences in water masses caused by temperature and salinity differences, as well as the rise and fall of tides caused by the gravitational attraction of the sun and the moon. Thermohaline Circulation is a process driven by density differences in water due to temperature (Thermo) and salinity (Haline) variations in different parts of the ocean. Currents driven by thermohaline circulation occur at both deep and shallow ocean levels and move much slower than tidal or surface currents. http: //oceanservice. noaa. gov/facts/current. html

Gyres Gyre is a circular flow of Currents in an ocean basin due to the Coriolis Effect, which deflects wind to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. Gyres are formed by global wind patterns and forces created by Earth’s rotation There are five major Gyres: North Atlantic South Atlantic North Pacific

GYRE CURRENTS

Causes of Gyres are caused by the Coriolis Effect; a planetary vorticity along with horizontal and vertical friction, determine the patterns from the wind. Gyres Video

Ekman Transport The Ekman Transport is a rotating column of water that forms when water moves at an angle to the wind direction due to the Coriolis Effect. The net effect of the rotating water is movement at a right angle to the wind direction.

Causes of Ekman Transport When surface water molecules move by the force of the wind, they, in turn, drag deeper layers of water molecules below them. Each layer of water molecules move by the force of the wind, they, in turn, drag deeper layers of water molecules below them.

How are the Coriolis effect and Ekman transport related?

HOW ARE GYRES FORMED?

What factors influence the Currents?

Bibliography Currents US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "What Is a Current? " NOAA's National Ocean Service, 01 Mar. 2009. Web. 03 Apr. 2017. Fairclough, Caty. "Currents, Waves, and Tides: The Ocean in Motion. " Ocean Portal | Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, 25 Jan. 2017. Web. 03 Apr. 2017. Gyres Wohlers, Bob, Karl Shreeves, and Lesley Alexander. Life on an Ocean Planet. Rancho Santa Margarita, CA: Current, 2010. Print. "What Is a Gyre and How Does It Work? " CIMI School. Catalina Island Marine Institute, 07 July 2015. Web. 03 Apr. 2017. Ekman Transport US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "NOAA's National Ocean Service Education: Currents: Ekman Spiral. " NOAA's National Ocean Service Education: Currents: Ekman Spiral. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 19 Dec. 2004. Web. 03 Apr. 2017. "Ocean in Motion: Ekman Transport Background. " Ocean Motion : Background : Ocean in Motion - Ekman Transport. NASA, n. d. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.