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Ocean Currents – Video Lesson
Directions: Go to the website, http://www.montereyinstitute.org/noaa/lesson08.html to view a
video lesson on ocean currents. Follow along the video to answer the questions below.
1. Is the northeast United States affected by the Gulf Stream? Why or Why Not?
2. What are eddy currents?
3. What are the three main causes of currents?
4. What are the two current systems?
5. What is a gyre? How many major gyres are on the Earth?
6. What is the most important cause of surface currents?
7. Why does the Coriolis Effect occur?
8. What parts of the Earth does the Coriolis Effect (solid earth, oceans, atmosphere)?
9. What are the directions of deflection due to the Coriolis Effect in the Northern and
Southern Hemispheres?
10. What role does land play in affecting surface currents?
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11. How long does water take to complete the entire gyre in the Atlantic Ocean?
12. What are longshore currents? How can they affect beaches?
13. What are rip currents? How can they affect swimmers at beaches?
14. What are upwelling currents? How do they influence life forms in coastal areas?
15. What is the global conveyor belt?
16. How long does one cycle through the global conveyor belt last?
17. What drives the global conveyor belt?
18. In what regions does the global conveyor belt begin?
19. What happens as the global conveyor belt begins to heat up?
20. What happens to the heated portions of the global conveyor belt, allowing the
process to repeat itself?
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Ocean Currents – Video Lesson Part 2
Directions: Go to the website, http://www.montereyinstitute.org/noaa/lesson08.html. CLICK
ON THE GLOBAL IMPACT TAB. Then, follow along with the video to answer the questions
below.
1. What is upwelling?
2. In what % of the earth’s oceans does upwelling occur? What % of the world’s fishing
industry occurs in upwelling regions?
3. What type of seawater is brought to the surface during upwelling?
4. What three types of fish are found almost entirely in upwelling regions?
5. How do currents in general affect earth’s climate?
6. How do western boundary currents affect climate?
7. How do eastern boundary currents affect climate?
8. Specifically, how is the climate of Western Europe and northern Canada (equal
latitudes) affected by currents?
9. How might global warming affect the North Atlantic? What would happen to the global
conveyor belt?
10. How much could temperatures in Western Europe decrease if this were to occur?