Ocean Surface Currents
1. On your map of Ocean Surface Currents from http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/8q_1.html , draw arrows to show the flow of the Prevailing Westerly winds between 30 and 60 degrees north and south of the equator. Which west to east ocean currents are caused by these winds?
2. On your map of Ocean Surface Currents, draw arrows to show the flow of the prevailing Tropical Easterly winds between 0 and 30 degrees north and south of the equator. Which east to west ocean currents are caused by these winds?
3. Find the currents that flow north or south and flow between the currents named above. The currents that flow away from the equator bringing warm water toward the poles are the warm water currents. Label them "warm" on the map and list their names below. Identify which side of the major ocean basins (not the Indian Ocean) these currents are on: are they on the west side or the east side of those oceans?
The Warm Water Currents: ________________, ______________________, _________________, _________________, are all on the _________________ side of their oceans.
4. The currents that flow away from the poles bringing cooled water back to the equator are cold water currents. Label them "cold" on the map and list their names below. Identify which side of the major ocean basins (not the Indian Ocean) these currents are on: are they on the west side or the east side of those oceans?
The Cold Water Currents: ________________, ______________________, _________________, _________________, are all on the _________________ side of their oceans.
5. This pattern of west-to-east, north-to-south, east-to-west and south-to-north currents creates a circular flow in the major ocean basins. Do the oceans in the Northern Hemisphere circulate mostly clockwise or counter-clockwise? Do the oceans in the Southern Hemisphere circulate mostly clockwise or counter-clockwise?
HW: (1) Finish the marking your map and answering the questions above. (2) Read the article on Surface Ocean Currents from http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/8q.html and highlight or circle the parts that explain in more detail what you learned by answering the previous questions. (3) In your text, read p403-405, Do p405 #4,5.