What is a large volume of water flowing in certain direction?

What is a large volume of water flowing in certain direction?

A current is a large volume of water flowing in a certain direction. 1. One cause of an ocean current is friction between wind and the ocean surface. ○ Earth’s prevailing winds influence the formation and direction of surface currents.

What direction does water current flow?

Surface ocean currents form large circular patterns called gyres. Gyres flow clockwise in Northern Hemisphere oceans and counterclockwise in Southern Hemisphere oceans because of the Coriolis Effect. creating surface ocean currents. Near the Earth’s poles, gyres tend to flow in the opposite direction.

What term refers to the vertical movement of water toward the surface of the ocean?

Ocean water moves in two directions: horizontally and vertically. Horizontal movements are referred to as currents, while vertical changes are called upwellings or downwellings.

In what direction do surface currents move?

The major surface currents are pictured below (Figure below). They flow in a clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, they flow in the opposite direction. These loops are called gyres.

What causes water to flow in a certain direction?

It is an inertial force caused by the rotation of an object. The Coriolis force tends to make things on the surface of the object to spiral a certain direction. As the earth rotates, this motion causes everything on the surface to experience the Coriolis force, including the water in your sink.

What does the atmosphere and ocean move?

The atmosphere on Earth is fairly transparent to incoming sunlight. Therefore, the heat in the atmosphere that drives its motion actually comes from the earth’s surface. Since the ocean makes up most of that surface, the ocean plays the major role in heat transfer around the planet.

Why does water at the equator generally flow toward the West?

The Coriolis effect deflects air to the east as it flows towards the poles and towards the west as it flows towards the equator in the northern hemisphere.

What moves water vertically?

DENSITY CURRENTS move water vertically toward the ocean’s surface. AN UPWELLING moves water vertically from the surface to deeper parts of the ocean. Density currents are caused by density changes, which are brought on by changes in temperature or WIND.

What is the vertical movement of water caused by differences in density?

There currents are set in motion by variations in water density caused by differences in temperature and salinity, a process called convection. The density of a substance is defined by its mass per volume; one liter of water, for example, does not weigh the same as one liter of oil.

In what way does ocean water move globally?

Ocean water is constantly in motion: north-south, east-west, alongshore, and vertically. Seawater motions are the result of waves, tides, and currents (Figure below). Ocean movements are the consequence of many separate factors: wind, tides, Coriolis effect, water density differences, and the shape of the ocean basins.

Why does water flow clockwise in the Northern hemisphere?

Likewise, the rotation of the earth gives rise to an effect that tends to accelerate draining water in a clockwise direction in the Northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern.”

What is it called when water rises at the surface?

Upwelling Upwellingis the vertical movement of water toward the ocean’s surface. Upwelling occurs when wind blows across the ocean’s surface and pushes water away from an area. Deeper colder water then rises to replace it. Upwelling often occurs along coastlines.

What is the flow rate or discharge of a river?

The flow rate or discharge of a river is the volume of water flowing through a cross-section in a unit of time and is usually expressed as m3s-1. It is calculated as the product of average velocity and cross-sectional area but is affected by water depth, alignment of the channel, gradient and roughness of the river bed.

What is upwelling and density current?

Definition: The movement of water to the right or left and is caused by earth’s rotation Upwelling Definition: The vertical movement of water toward the oceans surface Density current Definition: The vertical movement of water from the surface to deeper parts of the ocean Salinity

What type of current carries water from surface to deep?

Density Currents Density Currentsare a type of vertical current that carries water from the surface to deeper parts of the ocean. Density Currents are caused by changes in density rather than wind. Density currents circulate thermal energy, nutrients and gases.