The Rubber Duck Derby and Ocean Currents

What would happen if you dumped more that 30 000 rubber ducks into the ocean off the coast of China…?

Watch the“Rubber Ducks and Ocean Currents.mp4”video located on Moodle.

  1. Answer the following questions:

a)What is the oceans’ greatest power?

b)In which ocean did 30 000 ducks start their journey?

c)Name some of the places the ducks travelled.

d)Why did the ducks travel such great distances?

e)Why did the commentator say the oceans are like a “massive central heating system”?

Think!!!

The video shows that oceans are warmest nearest the equator. However, ocean currents move this “warmest” water to colder parts of the world. So what will happen to the temperature of any coldair located much further north when a warm ocean current moves underneaththis cold air?

  1. Open the file labelled “Global Surface Ocean Currents_cfm.mht” in your Moodle. Right click on this file and select Open in New Tab.

Study the map and then answer the following questions:

a)There are threephysical processesshown on the animated map. Name them.

b)There are two ocean currents shown moving just to the east of Newfoundland. Identify which direction each of these ocean currentsare moving. Also identify the type of ocean current (i.e. warm or cold) for each.

c)Identify the type of ocean current located off the coast of British Columbia (i.e. warm or cold) as well as the direction it is moving.

Place your cursor over the map to reveal the direction of the global winds. Focus on the direction the global wind is moving along the east coast of Florida in the U.S.A.

d)What is the relationship between the direction of the ocean current along the coast of Newfoundland and the direction of the global wind along the east coast of Florida in the U.S.A.?

e)Is the same relationship occurring between the direction of ocean currents and global winds around much of the world?

f)What is “driving” ocean currents (both the fact oceans move and move in a specific direction)?

Assignment

Read pages57 & 58 in your text book as well as research the internet to further your understanding of ocean currents before beginning this assignment.

You are going to make a “poster” on a legal sized paper set to landscape, which visually explains how global ocean currents affect the climate of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Victoria, British Columbia.

Your poster is to be computer generated, and therefore you cannot include any handwritten content on the poster!

The final poster must include the following:

  • A blankmap of Canada highlighting only the locations and names of the two cities being investigated. You must use an appropriate symbol as a place marker for each location, as well as use a text box containing the names of each location. A blank Canada outline map can be found easily using google images.
  • Indicate the direction of the three oceans currentsaffecting the climateof the two cities (use arrows of appropriate colour to show this).
  • Label each of these ocean currents with their specific names (you will have to do some research to find this information)
  • Call outtext boxes which include explanations(in your own words) of how each of the three oceans currents you have identified affects the climate of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Victoria, British Columbia.
  • The poster must include an appropriate title.

Layout of the poster:

  • Must be printed in colour
  • Must be well organized
  • Since this is a poster, images and text must be presented in such a way (i.e. size and clarity) so they can be seen and understood and occupy most of the poster area (i.e. very little “blank space” should be evident).