What does wind blowing across the ocean cause?

What does wind blowing across the ocean cause?

Winds blowing across the ocean surface often push water away from an area. When this occurs, water rises up from beneath the surface to replace the diverging surface water. This process is known as upwelling.

What causes ocean currents?

Ocean currents are driven by wind, water density differences, and tides. Oceanic currents describe the movement of water from one location to another.

What are the different types of ocean currents?

The two basic types of currents – surface and deep-water currents – help define the character and flow of ocean waters across the planet.

What causes waves in the middle of the ocean?

Waves are most commonly caused by wind. Wind-driven waves, or surface waves, are created by the friction between wind and surface water. As wind blows across the surface of the ocean or a lake, the continual disturbance creates a wave crest. The gravitational pull of the sun and moon on the earth also causes waves.

What causes upwelling apex?

Conditions are optimal for upwelling along the coast when winds blow along the shore. Winds blowing across the ocean surface push water away. Water then rises up from beneath the surface to replace the water that was pushed away. This process is known as “upwelling.”

What are wind currents caused by?

Air currents are caused by the sun’s uneven heating of the Earth. As sunlight beams down on the Earth, it warms some areas, particularly the tropics, more than others. As the Earth’s surface is heated, it warms the air just above it. The warmed air expands and becomes lighter than the surrounding air.

What happens when ocean currents and air masses interact?

Warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf Loop Current) travels as a maritime tropical (mT) air mass toward Texas and the Southwest. A warm frontal boundary forms where the two fronts meet. This type of interaction often causes violent thunderstorms, and sometimes even spawns tornados or hail.

What are the circular patterns in which the world’s oceans travel?

Ocean gyres are large system of circular ocean currents formed by global wind patterns and forces created by Earth’s rotation. The five major circulation patterns formed by the currents on this map are the world’s five major ocean gyres: North Atlantic, South Atlantic, Indian, North Pacific, and South Pacific.

What causes waves electromagnetic?

Electromagnetic radiation is made when an atom absorbs energy. The absorbed energy causes one or more electrons to change their locale within the atom. When the electron returns to its original position, an electromagnetic wave is produced. These electrons in these atoms are then in a high energy state.

What is equatorial upwelling?

The rising of water along the equator from about 200 m to the surface. It occurs in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans where the Southern Hemisphere trade winds reach into the Northern Hemisphere, giving uniform wind direction on either side of the equator.