The effect the spinning earth has on water and wind currents.
 The earth is spinning all the time as it moves through space.
 The earth’s spinning makes the water in the oceans and the air we breathe move.
 The movements of the larger air and water currents can be mapped.
 At certain times of the year, winds can cause a great deal of rain.
 The winds that cause this rain are called monsoons.
 Earth spins.
 As the earth turns, the side pointed toward away from the sun has daylight.
 The side of the earth pointed away from the sun has nighttime.
 It takes 24 hours for the earth to spin around once, which is why there are 24 hours
in a day.
 One complete spin of the earth is called a rotation.
 The earth is tilted as it faces the sun.
 The earth is warmer at the equator and cooler at the poles because of the angle at
which the sun’s ray meet the earth’s surface.
 There is almost a direct hit at the equator.
 A large part of the earth is covered with water.
 As the waters of the oceans move, they strike land.
 This causes them to move around the land and along the shorelines of the
continents.
 Moving through the ocean water are currents.
 Currents are like rivers in the ocean.
 Ocean currents can be mapped/
 The spinning of the earth affects the waters of the ocean.
 Spinning jar.
 The earth’s spinning affects the oceans’ waters just as the water in the spinning jar
was affected.
 Water in the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere move in different
directions due to the Coriolis force.
 Ocean currents have different temperatures.
 Water at the Poles are cold, and water at the equator is warm.
 Ocean currents from the Poles are cold, and at the equator are warm.
 The air that surrounds the earth is also affected by the spinning of the earth.
 The Coriolis force affects winds just as it does water.
 Wind belts that move one way in the Northern Hemisphere move the other way in
the Southern Hemisphere.
 The winds are also affected by the season of the year.
 Some winds blow one way during the summer and the other way during the winter.
 These are called seasonal winds.
 Monsoon winds bring heavy rains. It brings water from the equator.
 Farmers count on these regular heavy rains to help their crops.
 In Bombay, India, there is no rain from November to March, but from June until
September there is an average of 88 inches of rainfall.
 There are 5 factors.
 1. Ocean Currents (what we just went over)
 2. Nearness to water (NYC vs Omaha Nebraska)
 3. Latitude ( Close to equator vs Far from the equator)
 4. Altitude ( Height of the land; elevation; mountains vs plains)
 5. Winds and Mountains (Winds source (warm waters vs cold waters, winds
blowing from the land vs winds that carry moisture with them) winds over
mountains)