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What factors drive currents?
What factors drive ocean currents?
What causes oceanic currents?
Do winds drive ocean currents?
At the surface, currents are mainly driven by four factors—wind, the Sun’s radiation, gravity, and Earth’s rotation. All of these factors are interconnected. The Sun’s radiation creates prevailing wind patterns, which push ocean water to bunch in hills and valleys.
Oceanic currents are driven by several factors. One is the rise and fall of the tides, which is driven by the gravitational attraction of the sun and moon on Earth's oceans. Tides create a current in the oceans, near the shore, and in bays and estuaries along the coast. These are called "tidal currents."
Oceanic currents describe the movement of water from one location to another. Currents are generally measured in meters per second or in knots (1 knot = 1.85 kilometers per hour or 1.15 miles per hour). Oceanic currents are driven by three main factors: 1. The rise and fall of the tides.
Thermohaline circulation drives deep ocean currents. Upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich waters creates biologically rich areas where surface waters are blown away from a shore, or where equatorial waters are blow outward. Review Questions. What causes the patterns of surface currents in the ocean? How do ocean surface currents affect climate?
Aug 1, 2011 · 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.
Ocean currents can be caused by wind, density differences in water masses caused by temperature and salinity variations, gravity, and events such as earthquakes or storms. Currents are cohesive streams of seawater that circulate through the ocean.
Currents are driven by several factors. Tides are one of these. Wind, the shape of the land, and even water temperature are other facts that drive currents. Why study tides and currents? We need accurate tide and current data to aid in navigation, but these measurements also play an important role in keeping people and the environment safe.
