Ocean Current Quiz

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Ocean Current Quiz o 90 N Landfall 1992, 1994, 1998, 2001,2003 Landfall 2003 o X1 Sitka X7 60 N Subpolar 45N 178E Maine Accident O Gyre X6 Jan.1992 Landfall 2003 o 30 N Subtropical Hawaii Gyre X4 o 0 Indonesia 3 A few months 5 South America after the storm o 2 30 S Australia (late 1992) 60oS o o o o o o o o o o 120 E 150 E 180 150 W 120 W 90 W 60 W 30 W 0 30 E Question 1 In January 1992 a storm swept 29,000 rubber ducks into the North Pacific. Since then the ducks have landed on beaches around the world. Oceanographers use information about the duck 'land-falls' to study ocean currents, but must be careful only to use only reliable reports. Three of the sightings in the map above are unlikely. Which are they? 1. Sitka, Alaska, in 1992 and for years afterwards. 2. Australia: A few months after the accident (late 1992). 3. Indonesia: A few months after the accident. 4. Hawaii: some time in 1994. 5. Peru, South America: A few months after the accident. 6. Maine, U.S East coast: in 2003. 7. Shetland, U.K.: in late 2003. Question 2 What is the name of the ocean gyre where the ducks went round and round for years before landing in Alaska in 1992, 1994, 1998, 2001 and 2003? 1. The Antarctic circumpolar current 2. The Pacific Subpolar Gyre 3. The Pacific Subtropical Gyre 4. The Atlantic Subpolar Gyre Turn over for more questions Sea surface temperature (SST) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 oC 6 60o N SUBPOLAR 5 GYRE 2 1 30o N NORTH ATLANTIC 3 SUBTROPICAL GYRE 4 o 0 SOUTH ATLANTIC o SUBTROPICAL 30 S GYRE 60o S o o o o o 90 W 60 W 30 W 0 30 E Question 3 The Atlantic has 3 ocean gyres created by the ocean currents. Can you name of the currents in the two North Atlantic gyres, numbered on the map? (Hint: two of the currents below are not part of the North Atlantic ocean gyres.) North Atlantic Equatorial Current Gulf Stream North Atlantic Drift Current Norwegian Current Irminger Current Canary Current Antarctic Circumpolar Current Labrador Current .

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Thermohaline Circulation (From Britannica)
Thermohaline circulation (from Britannica) The general circulation of the oceans consists primarily of the wind-driven currents. These, however, are superimposed on the much more sluggish circulation driven by horizontal differences in temperature and salinity—namely, the thermohaline circulation. The thermohaline circulation reaches down to the seafloor and is often referred to as the deep, or abyssal, ocean circulation. Measuring seawater temperature and salinity distribution is the chief method of studying the deep-flow patterns. Other properties also are examined; for example, the concentrations of oxygen, carbon-14, and such synthetically produced compounds as chlorofluorocarbons are measured to obtain resident times and spreading rates of deep water. In some areas of the ocean, generally during the winter season, cooling or net evaporation causes surface water to become dense enough to sink. Convection penetrates to a level where the density of the sinking water matches that of the surrounding water. It then spreads slowly into the rest of the ocean. Other water must replace the surface water that sinks. This sets up the thermohaline circulation. The basic thermohaline circulation is one of sinking of cold water in the polar regions, chiefly in the northern North Atlantic and near Antarctica. These dense water masses spread into the full extent of the ocean and gradually upwell to feed a slow return flow to the sinking regions. A theory for the thermohaline circulation pattern was proposed by Stommel and Arnold Arons in 1960. In the Northern Hemisphere, the primary region of deep water formation is the North Atlantic; minor amounts of deep water are formed in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.
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Oceans: Submarine Relief and Water Circulation
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2000 Svalbard Workshop Report (PDF 2.5
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