What Are Three Factors That Influence Currents?

• The rise and fall of the tides. Tides create a current in the oceans, which are strongest near the shore, and in bays and estuaries along the coast. …
• Wind. Winds drive currents that are at or near the ocean’s surface. …
• Thermohaline circulation.

What are the 3 things that influence these ocean currents?

Winds, water density, and tides

all drive ocean currents. Coastal and sea floor features influence their location, direction, and speed. Earth’s rotation results in the Coriolis effect which also influences ocean currents.

What are 3 factors that influence surface currents?

Surface currents are controlled by three factors:

global winds, the Coriolis effect, and continental deflections

. surface create surface currents in the ocean. Different winds cause currents to flow in different directions.

What are the factors that influence ocean currents?

There are four factors affecting the origin and flow of Ocean Currents i.e. Rotation and gravitational force of the Earth; Oceanic factors

(temperature, salinity, density, pressure gradient and melting of ice); atmospheric factors

(atmospheric pressure, winds, rainfall, evaporation and insolation); factors that …

What are the 3 factors that help form deep currents?

The different types of currents (referred to as surface or thermohaline, depending on their depth) are created by, among other things,

wind, water density, the topography of the ocean floor and the coriolis effect

.

What two factors influence surfaces?

Surface currents in the ocean are driven by

global wind systems that are fueled by energy from the sun

. Patterns of surface currents are determined by wind direction, Coriolis forces from the Earth’s rotation, and the position of landforms that interact with the currents.

What are the major surface currents?

There are five major ocean-wide gyres—

the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, and Indian Ocean gyres

. Each is flanked by a strong and narrow “western boundary current,” and a weak and broad “eastern boundary current” (Ross, 1995).

What are the causes of currents?

• The rise and fall of the tides. Tides create a current in the oceans, which are strongest near the shore, and in bays and estuaries along the coast. …
• Wind. Winds drive currents that are at or near the ocean’s surface. …
• Thermohaline circulation.

How do currents affect weather?

Ocean currents act much like a conveyer belt, transporting warm water and precipitation from the equator toward the poles and cold water from the poles back to the tropics. Thus, currents

regulate global climate

, helping to counteract the uneven distribution of solar radiation reaching Earth’s surface.

What 2 things affect deep currents?

Deep ocean currents are density-driven and differ from surface currents in scale, speed, and energy. Water density is affected by

the temperature, salinity (saltiness), and depth of the water

. The colder and saltier the ocean water, the denser it is.

What are 2 types of ocean currents?

There are two main types of ocean currents:

currents driven mainly by wind and currents mainly driven by density differences

. Density depends on temperature and salinity of the water. Cold and salty water is dense and will sink.

What are the 5 major ocean currents?

Ocean gyres are large system of circular ocean currents formed by global wind patterns and forces created by Earth’s rotation. The five major circulation patterns formed by the currents on this map are the world’s five major ocean gyres:

North Atlantic, South Atlantic, Indian, North Pacific, and South Pacific

.

What is responsible for deepwater currents?

Deep ocean currents (also known as Thermohaline Circulation) are caused by: …

The sinking and transport of large masses of cool water gives rise to

the thermohaline circulation, which is driven by density gradients due to variations in temperature and salinity. The earth’s rotation also influences deep ocean currents.

What is the difference between waves and currents?

What’s a deep current?

Deep currents, also known as thermohaline circulation,

result from differences in water density

. These currents occur when cold, dense water at the poles sinks. Surface water flows to replace sinking water, causing a conveyor belt-like effect of water circulating around the globe on a 1000-year journey.

What are the factors that result in different parts of the world?

These factors include

latitude, atmospheric circulation patterns, oceanic circulation patterns, the local geography of an area, solar activity, and volcanic activity

. 3. Explain why different parts of the Earth have different climates.