MET O
LO 1.1Determine the causes, wind-
driven and density of the ocean
currents including regions of primary
ocean currents
OCEAN CURRENTS
• Current- is the horizontal movement of water
• Flood - the movement of water toward the shore or upstream.
• Ebb – the movement of water away from shore or downstream.
• Set – is the direction toward which the current flows.
• Hydraulic Current- Generated largely by the continuously changing
difference in height of water at the two ends. The tides at the two ends
of a strait are seldom in phase or equal in range.
• Ocean Currents- A well defined current extending over a considerable
region of the ocean.
MAIN OCEAN CURRENTS
CAUSES OF OCEAN CURRENTS
1. Wind
2. Density differences in the water
3. Depth of water
4. Underwater topography
5. Shape of the basin in which the current is running
6. Extent and location of land
7. Deflection by the rotation of the earth
OCEAN CURRENTS
• An ocean current is a continuous, directed
movement of seawater generated by a number of
forces acting upon the water, including wind, the
Coriolis effect, breaking waves,cabbeling, and
temperature and salinity differences. Depth
contours, shoreline configurations, and
interactions with other currents influence a
current's direction and strength.Ocean currents
are primarily horizontal water movements.
OCEAN CURRENTS
An ocean current flows for great distances and together they
create the global conveyor belt, which plays a dominant role in
determining the climate of many of Earth's regions. More
specifically, ocean currents influence the temperature of the
regions through which they travel. For example, warm currents
traveling along more temperate coasts increase the temperature
of the area by warming the sea breezes that blow over them.
Perhaps the most striking example is the Gulf Stream, which,
together with its extension the North Atlantic Drift, makes
northwest Europe much more temperate for its high latitude than
other areas at the same latitude. Another example is Lima, Peru,
whose cooler subtropical climate contrasts with that of its
surrounding tropical latitudes because of the Humboldt Current.
OCEAN CURRENTS
Ocean currents are patterns of water movement that
influence climate zones and weather patterns around the
world. They are primarily driven by winds and by seawater
density, although many other factors – including the shape
and configuration of the ocean basin they flow through –
influence them. The two basic types of currents – surface
and deep-water currents – help define the character and
flow of ocean waters across the planet.
OCEAN CURRENTS
• Surface ocean currents (in contrast to subsurface ocean
currents),make up only 8% of all water in the ocean, are generally
restricted to the upper 400 m (1,300 ft) of ocean water, and are
separated from lower regions by varying temperatures and salinity
which affect the density of the water, which in turn, defines each
oceanic region. Because the movement of deep water in ocean
basins is caused by density-driven forces and gravity, deep waters
sink into deep ocean basins at high latitudes where the
temperatures are cold enough to cause the density to increase.
Surface currents are measured in units of meters per second (m/s)
or in knots.
WIND DRIVEN CIRCULATIONS
• Surface oceanic currents are driven by wind currents,
the large scale prevailing winds drive major persistent
ocean currents, and seasonal or occasional winds drive
currents of similar persistence to the winds that drive
them, and the Coriolis effect plays a major role in their
development.The Ekman spiral velocity distribution
results in the currents flowing at an angle to the driving
winds, and they develop typical clockwise spirals in the
northern hemisphere and counter-clockwise rotation in
the southern hemisphere.
WIND DRIVEN CIRCULATION
• In addition, the areas of surface ocean currents
move somewhat with the seasons; this is most
notable in equatorial currents. Deep ocean basins
generally have a non-symmetric surface current,
in that the eastern equator-ward flowing branch
is broad and diffuse whereas the pole-ward
flowing western boundary current is relatively
narrow
Thermohaline circulation
• Deep ocean currents are driven by density and
temperature gradients. This thermohaline circulation is
also known as the ocean's conveyor belt. These
currents, sometimes called submarine rivers, flow deep
belowthe surface of the ocean and are hidden from
immediate detection. Where significant vertical
movement of ocean currents is observed, this is known
as upwelling and downwelling. An international
program called Argo began researching deep ocean
currents with a fleet of underwater robots in the 2000s.
Thermohaline circulation
• The thermohaline circulation is a part of the large-scale ocean
circulation that is driven by global density gradients created by
surface heat and freshwater fluxes. The adjective thermohaline
derives from thermo- referring to temperature and -haline referring
to salt content, factors which together determine the density of sea
water. Wind-driven surface currents (such as the Gulf Stream) travel
polewards from the equatorial Atlantic Ocean, cooling en route, and
eventually sinking at high latitudes (forming North Atlantic Deep
Water). This dense water then flows into the ocean basins. While
the bulk of it upwells in the Southern Ocean, the oldest waters
(with a transit time of around 1000 years) upwell in the North
