Name: __________________________________________
Date: ___________
Period: ______
Wind and Surface Currents Lab Activity
(From The Fluid Earth pgs 184-193)
1.
What is wind? _______________________________________________________________________________
2. How does it develop? _________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
3. How is a convection current produced in the air? ___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Explain the reason that more sunlight falls on the equator than on the poles. _____________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Show what the convection currents (circulation cells) look like in the
southern hemisphere. Draw them on the edge of the globe as shown
in Figure 6-4 (the northern hemisphere has already been done for
you). Show the vertical and horizontal direction of the wind in each
cell.
6. On Figure 6-4, show the direction of the trade winds, prevailing
westerlies, and polar easterlies for the southern hemisphere (the
northern hemisphere has already been done for you).
7. On Figure 6-4, label either high or low pressure for the air masses
where the convection cells meet at 30°N, 60°N, 90°N, 30°S, 60°S, 90°S.
8. Look at the gyre formed in the North Pacific Ocean in Fig 6-8. Add arrow tips to show the direction of flow
(clockwise/counterclockwise). Use Figures 6-7 and 6-4 to determine which of the prevailing winds drives:
a. The currents in the northernmost part of the gyre? ___________________________________________
b. The currents in the southernmost part of the gyre? ___________________________________________
9. Describe the directions of the currents that flow
offshore of the east coast of the US: ___________
and the west coast of the US: ____________. How
do these currents probably affect the climates
along these two coasts? ______________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
10. Benjamin Franklin predicted the discovery of the
Gulf Stream from his record of how long ships took
to carry mail between the US and England. Which way took longer? ____________________________________
11. In your own words, describe how each of the following affects the current formation:
a. Prevailing wind: _______________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
b. The rotation of the earth: ________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
c. The boundaries of continents: ____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
12. Wind blowing parallel to shore can create a current that moves out to sea, producing a valley in near shore
waters as shown in Fig 6-10A. A current of water moves from colder deeper waters toward shore filling the
valley. This phenomenon is called an _____________________.
a. Sketch arrows in (A) to show the water movement you predict.
b. Explain why this phenomenon is important for proliferation of life in the oceans. ___________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
13. Wind can pile up water, producing “hills” of
seawater as shown in Fig 6-10B. Predict the
current pattern that would result. Sketch
arrows in (B) to show the water movement
you predict in this example.
14. In the two examples in Fig 6-10, which
occurs in the southern hemisphere? ______
In the northern hemisphere? ______ How
can you tell? _________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________