Ocean Currents Waves and Tides By Citlalli Dominguez

Ocean Currents, Waves, and Tides By: Citlalli Dominguez, Janet Roa, Patricia & Carissa Eclarin

Ocean Currents – Giant streams of ocean water.

Two major types of ocean currents Surface currents Deep currents Where? • Warm ocean water that moves on or near the surface of the ocean. Where? • Cold ocean water that moves very slowly beneath the surface of the ocean. Causes? • Wind belts, Coriolis Effect, and location of the continents. Causes? • Different water densities.

Terms to Know • Coriolis Effect - Deflection of wind and ocean currents caused by the earth’s rotation. • Gyres - Huge rotating patterns, formed as a result of wind belts and coriolis effect * Northern Hemisphere gyres flow to the right, or clockwise * Southern Hemisphere gyres flow to the left, or counterclockwise • Turbidity current - Strong current caused by an underwater landslide.

7 Major Ocean Currents of the World: 1. West Wind Drift (or the Antarctic Circumpolar Current) 2. East Wind Drift 3. North Equatorial currents 4. South Equatorial currents 5. Peru Current, 6. Kuroshio Current 7. Gulf Stream

Ocean Waves

What are waves? v Constant up and down movement of ocean water. • Crest – The highest point of a wave. • Trough – The lowest point between two crests. • Wave height – The vertical distance between the crest and the trough. • Wave length – Horizontal distance between two crests. • Wave period – Time it takes for one complete wavelength to pass. Crest Wavelength Wave height Trough Crest

How to calculate wave speed? *Remember this formula! Wave speed = wave length period Example: If a wave has a wavelength of 216 m and a period of 12 s, what is its speed? 216 m 12 s 18 m/s

�Wave energy? The wind. More energy = larger the wave. v Swell – group of long rolling waves that are the same size. • Wave size? Three factors = speed of the wind, length of time the wind blows, and the fetch. v Fetch – The distance that the wind can blow across open water. • Water movement in a wave? Moves very little. = Water particles move in circles.

Ocean Tides – the daily changes in the level of the ocean surface.

Low tide High tide Low tide Cause of Tides? The moon’s gravitational pull on the earth and its waters.

Terms to Know �Tidal Current – the flow of the ocean water toward and away from the coast. �Flood Tide – when the tidal current flows toward the coast. �Ebb Tide – when the tidal currents flow toward the ocean.

Thank You!