16.3 - The Ocean and Climate Change

ocean surface currents _____ thermal energy

redistribute

blank blank blank are areas of ocean water that flow steadily in a particular direction close to the ocean’s surface and redistribute thermal energy

ocean surface currents

currents within ocean basins spin clockwise in the ____ hemisphere

northern

currents within ocean basins spin _____ in the southern hemisphere

counterclockwise

_____ bring warm water towards the poles along _____ sides of ocean basins

gyres, west

gyres return cold water back towards the equator along the _____ side of ocean basins

east

the atlantic and pacific ocean basins are connected across the ____ sea through the ____ strait

arctic, bering

where is the bering strait?

next to alaska

what is the coriolis effect?

object takes curved path when moving along rotating object

what effect is associated with curved paths?

coriolis effect

__ ___ ___ are subsurface patterns of ocean circulation

deep ocean currents

unlike surface currents, deep currents are driven by ____ __ _____

differences in density

what determines surface ocean current patterns?

continental outlines, deep ocean currents, and surface winds

what is a thermocline?

transition zone between upper and lower water levels

thermoclines are steeper in _____ regions, nonexistent in ____ regions

tropical, polar

_____ regions have the lowest phytoplankton activity

tropical

ocean ______ is the expansion of low-oxygen zones

deoxygenation

what is ENSO?

el nino southern oscillation

ENSO cycles are driven by a pattern of atmospheric flow called the ____ ____

walker circulation

what is the warm phase of enso?

el nino