Ocean Currents and Geographic Regions

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes about ocean currents and various geographic locations.

Ocean currents

Large masses of water that move constantly in the top 100 to 200 metres of the ocean.

Main causes of ocean currents

Winds, differences in water temperature, and the rotation of the Earth.

Warmer water

Water that flows from the equator.

Colder water

Water that comes from the poles.

Warm currents

Generally flow along the east coasts of the continents, having a warming effect on the coastlines that they pass.

Cold ocean currents

Generally flow on the west coast of continents and having a cooling effect on the coastlines they pass.

Coriolis effect

The effect of the Earth's rotation causing moving air and water to turn left in the southern hemisphere and turn right in the northern hemisphere.

Gulf Stream

A major warm current in the North Atlantic Ocean that transports warm water from the Gulf of Mexico, along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, and towards Northwest Europe.

Upwelling

The movement of deep, cold, and nutrient-rich water to the surface, often occurring along coastlines due to wind and the Coriolis effect.

El Niño

A significant climate pattern characterized by unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.

La Niña

A climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean where unusually cool ocean temperatures prevail in the central and eastern tropical Pacific.