Name:______Date:______Period:______

NOAA LESSON 8 OCEAN CURRENTS

Use this link:

Part 1: Watch the video clip and answer the questions below. Pause and replay using the slider as needed.

  1. What are ocean currents?
  1. What is an Eddy current?
  1. Currents are caused by______, ______, and ______.
  1. The two types of ocean currents (circulation) are______and ______.
  2. Describe Gyre movements. How many MAJOR Gyres are present?
  1. What two things steer or direct the movement of the gyres?
  1. ______is the most important cause of surface currents.
  2. Why do wind driven currents slow down with depth?
  1. What causes the Corioliseffect?
  1. Why is it important for planes to correct for the Corioliseffect?
  1. Coriolis deflection is to the ______in the Northern Hemisphere and to the ______in the Southern Hemisphere.
  2. The two winds responsible for the North American Gyre are ______and ______.
  3. Describe Longshore Currents
  1. Describe Rip Currents
  1. Describe Upwelling Currents
  1. It takes ______years for the Global Conveyor Belt to circulate through all the world’s oceans.
  1. Thermohaline circulation is driven by ______and ______difference in the water.
  2. Where does the Global Conveyor Belt begin? Where does it end?

Part 2: Click on the right side of the screen where it says “Explore Coriolis Effect”. Read the instructions and then try to accurately land the aircraft. Complete this activity 3 times by selecting “Try Again” if you’re not successful or “New Path” if you are successful.

  1. How you were able to accurately land the plane in the Northern Hemisphere and in the South Hemisphere.

Part 3: Click on right side of screen where it says “El Nino”. Read the background information and answer the question below.

  1. How does El Nino affect California and Australia differently?

Set the tab to “Sea Surface Conditions” and answer the questions below:

  1. Compare sea temperatures and surface topography in the eastern and western equatorial Pacific in normal, non- El Niño conditions.
  1. Explain how winds and currents cause these patterns.
  1. Now compare sea temperatures and surface topography in the eastern and western equatorial Pacific during an El Niño.
  1. Explain how winds and currents might cause these patterns.

Set the tab to “Weather” and answer the questions below:

  1. What is the "normal" weather around the equatorial Pacific, and how do currents influence this pattern?
  1. What is El Niño weather around the equatorial Pacific, and how do currents influence this pattern?

Set the tab to “Tracking El Nino” and answer the questions below:

  1. List three things the buoy can measure that will help scientists study El Nino

Part 4: Click on right side of screen where it says “Currents and Marine Life”. Read the background information and answer the question below using the “Upwelling” tab.

  1. Most primary productivity in the oceans occurs in surface waters, but most of the organic matter is at the bottom of the sea. Explain.
  1. What causes upwelling?
  1. Why is nutrient upwelling so powerful around Antarctica?
  1. What other conditions near the South Pole help stimulate lush plant growth?

Set the tab to “Downwelling” and answer the questions below.

  1. What causes downwelling?
  1. Where does most downwelling occur?