Essay On Ocean Currents

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OCEAN CURRENTS: A water of the ocean move in stream called a current. A current results when a fluid, either gas or a liquid, moves in a definite direction. Ocean currents form in response to many factors: heat from the sun, wind, salinity (saltiness), land masses acting as barriers and the rotation of the Earth. Ocean currents can flow for thousands of kilometers. They are very important in determining the climates of the continents, especially bordering on the ocean. Types of Ocean currents : • Surface water currents. • Deep water currents.  SURFACE WATER CURRENTS: ( Surface Circulation) • These currents makeup about 40% of water in the ocean. • These water are the upper 400 meter of the ocean.  Deep water currents : (Thermohaline Circulation)…show more content…
 Ocean Currents are influenced by two types of forces 1. Primary Forces – start the water moving Primary Forces are : 1. Solar Heating 2. Winds 3. Gravity 4. Coriolis 2. Secondary Forces : (Influence where the currents flow) Surface Circluation Solar Heating : Cause water to expand .Near the equator the water is about 8cm high than in middle latidudes.This cause a very slight slope and water wants to flow down the slope. Winds : blowing on the surface of the ocean push the water. Friction is the coupling between the wind and the water's surface. A wind blowing for 10 hours across the ocean will cause the surface waters to flow at about 2% of the wind speed.Water will pile up in the direction the wind is blowing. Gravity : Gravity will tend to pull the water down the "hill" or pile of water against the pressure gradient. But the Coriolis Force intervenes and cause the water to move to the right (in the northern hemisphere) around the mound of water. These large mounds of water and the flow around them are called Gyres. The produce large circular currents in all the Ocean currents. Northern Atlantic Gyre Ekman

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