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Tides & Ocean Currents

1. Ocean currents are generated by forces like the Earth's rotation, wind, temperature and salinity differences, and the moon's gravitation. They transport warm and cold water around the globe, regulating global climate. 2. Productive fishing grounds exist where warm and cold currents converge due to increased plankton growth from mixing. Examples include where the cold Labrador Current meets the warm Gulf Stream. 3. The Gulf Stream is a strong warm current that transports water from the Gulf of Mexico north along the eastern US and European coasts.

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Suchandra Ghoshal
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336 views3 pages

Tides & Ocean Currents

1. Ocean currents are generated by forces like the Earth's rotation, wind, temperature and salinity differences, and the moon's gravitation. They transport warm and cold water around the globe, regulating global climate. 2. Productive fishing grounds exist where warm and cold currents converge due to increased plankton growth from mixing. Examples include where the cold Labrador Current meets the warm Gulf Stream. 3. The Gulf Stream is a strong warm current that transports water from the Gulf of Mexico north along the eastern US and European coasts.

Uploaded by

Suchandra Ghoshal
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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TIDES & OCEAN CURRENTS

1. What are currents?


An ocean current is any more or less permanent or continuous, directed movement of
ocean water that flows in one of the Earth's oceans. The currents are generated from the
forces acting upon the water like the earth's rotation, the wind, the temperature and
salinity differences and the gravitation of the moon.

2. What is Coriolis Force?


Because the Earth rotates on its axis, circulating air is deflected toward the right in the
Northern Hemisphere and toward the left in the Southern Hemisphere. This deflection is
called the Coriolis effect.

3. What happens when warm and cold currents meet? How is it important for
fisheries?
Some of the world's most productive fishing grounds are located where warm and cold
currents converge. For example, where Labrador current (cold) and Gulf stream (warm)
meet, a dense fog is there and it is one of the richest fishing grounds of the world. When
they meet the food of fishes is formed.

4. Name a few currents of the Pacific ocean.


North Equatorial Current (Warm)
South Equatorial Current (Warm)
Kuroshio System (Warm)
Oyashio Current (Cold)
California Current (Cold)
Peru Current (Cold)

5. What is Gulf stream famous for?


A powerful, warm, surface current in the North Atlantic Ocean, east of North America,
the Gulf Stream is one of the strongest known currents. It's a current of warm water
moving from the Caribbean up towards the East Coast of the United States and Europe.

6. Name a few minor currents of the world.


Some of the minor currents in the world are the North Equatorial current, North Pacific
current, Kuroshio Current and Alaskan Current.

7. What effect do the ocean currents have on the climate of a place?


Currents affect climate by moving cold and warm water around the globe. Currents carry
warm water from the tropics toward the poles and bring cold water back toward the
equator.
8. What are the effects of tides?
Write any effects from your book as per choice

9. What is the time difference between two tides? Why is it called?


One tidal cycle completes in 24 hours and 52 minutes. This is because of the revolution
of Moon around the earth and both earth's rotation and moon revolution are in same
direction. The time difference between two high tides is called “Tidal Interval”.

10. Explain by reference to actual examples the effects of ocean currents on climate,
economy and fishing.
Ocean currents act much like a conveyor belt, transporting warm water and precipitation
from the equator toward the poles and cold water from the poles back to the tropics.
Thus, ocean currents regulate global climate, helping to counteract the uneven
distribution of solar radiation reaching Earth's surface.

11. How are tides caused?


Tides are caused by gravitational pull of the moon and the sun. Tides are very long-
period waves that move through the oceans in response to the forces exerted by the moon
and sun. Tides originate in the oceans and progress toward the coastlines where they
appear as the regular rise and fall of the sea surface.

12. Name the two movements in the ocean.


Horizontal and vertical movement.

13. Define the term ‘evaporation’.


Evaporation, the process by which an element or compound transitions from its liquid
state to its gaseous state below the temperature at which it boils; in particular, the process
by which liquid water enters the atmosphere as water vapour.

14. Name any two warm currents of the Atlantic ocean.


The Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Drift.

Give reasons:
1. The famous fishing grounds of the world are located where warm and cold currents
meet.
Areas where warm and cold currents meet tend to have high biological productivity,
because plankton growth is encourage by the mixing of warm and cold currents. Some of
the world's most productive fishing grounds are located where warm and cold currents
converge. When they meet the food of fishes is formed.
2. Winds are the main influence on the circulation of ocean currents.
Surface currents are generated largely by wind. Their patterns are determined by wind
direction, Coriolis forces from the Earth's rotation, and the position of landforms that
interact with the currents. These currents move water masses through the deep ocean—
taking nutrients, oxygen, and heat with them.

3. The tidal range differs from sea to sea.


The Tidal range is a vertical difference between the high tide and the succeeding low tide.
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational
forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth.

4. The tides help in navigation.


The rise in the sea level due to the gravitational pull of the moon causes high tide. One of
the main benefit of high tide is that it helps in navigation. When high tides occur the
water level rises up, That time is safe for the large ship to enter and leave the harbour.

C. 3. Gulf stream- The Gulf Stream is a strong ocean current that brings warm water from
the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic Ocean. It extends all the way up the eastern coast of the
United States and Canada. The Gulf Stream is a strong ocean current that brings warm water
from the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic Ocean.

4.Labrador current- The Labrador Current is a cold current in the North Atlantic Ocean
which flows from the Arctic Ocean south along the coast of Labrador and passes around
Newfoundland, continuing south along the east coast of Canada near Nova Scotia. Near
Nova Scotia, this cold water current meets the warm northward moving Gulf Stream.

N.B—Write brief note on Spring and Neap tide from book.

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