Table of Contents
What Causes Density Currents?
density current any current in either a liquid or a gas that is kept in motion by the force of gravity acting on differences in density. As a consequence it sinks and flows along the bottom under the effect of gravity. …
What are density currents caused by?
density current Current that is produced by differences in density. Where a flow of sea water has a greater density than that surrounding it the more dense water will dive beneath the less dense water. Density of sea water is affected by temperature salinity and the content of suspended sediment.
What are the 4 causes of density currents?
- Wind. Wind is the single biggest factor in the creation of surface currents. …
- Water Density. Another major factor in the creation of currents is water density caused by the amount of salt in a body of water and its temperature. …
- Ocean Bottom Topography. …
- Coriolis Effect.
What causes density deep ocean currents?
Currents also flow deep below the surface of the ocean. Deep currents are caused by differences in density at the top and bottom. More dense water takes up less space than less dense water. … Water that is more dense sinks.
What are density currents?
What are the causes of currents?
- The rise and fall of the tides. Tides create a current in the oceans which are strongest near the shore and in bays and estuaries along the coast. …
- Wind. Winds drive currents that are at or near the ocean’s surface. …
- Thermohaline circulation.
What are the 5 factors that affect current flow?
There are four factors affecting the origin and flow of Ocean Currents i.e. Rotation and gravitational force of the Earth Oceanic factors (temperature salinity density pressure gradient and melting of ice) atmospheric factors (atmospheric pressure winds rainfall evaporation and insolation) factors that …
What two factors most affect the density of water?
Factors affecting Water Density
There are two factors which are affecting the density of water namely temperature and purity. In the case of pure water temperature plays a crucial role. The density of water varies with temperature but not in a linear way.
Which primary mechanism causes surface currents?
Surface currents in the ocean are driven by global wind systems that are fueled by energy from the sun. Patterns of surface currents are determined by wind direction Coriolis forces from the Earth’s rotation and the position of landforms that interact with the currents.
What affects water density?
What are the two causes of density in deep current waters quizlet?
What are the two causes of density in deep current waters? a. c. Oxygen content of the water and high temperatures .
How does density affect ocean currents?
Differences in water density affect vertical ocean currents (movement of surface ocean water to the bottom of the ocean and movement of deep ocean water to the surface). … Denser water tends to sink while less dense water tends to rise.
How can evaporation cause a density current?
How can evaporation cause a density current? the evaporation leaves salt behind and causes different densitys creating a density current.
How do surface currents develop?
What do turbidity currents produce?
What are the causes of current in geography?
i. Prevailing winds: Prevailing winds influence the ocean currents more than any other single factor. These winds blow in a particular direction and drag the surface water due to the force of friction. This leads to the formation of ocean currents.
What are the causes of currents class 11th?
- Heating by solar energy: Heating by solar energy causes the water to expand. …
- Wind: Wind blowing on the surface of the ocean pushes the water to move. …
- Gravity: Gravity tends to pull the water down the pile and create gradient variation.
What are the 5 causes of oceanic current?
- Solar heating. it causes water to expand. …
- Wind. The Wind is responsible for ocean currents as it blows the water on the surface causing the currents. …
- Gravity. Gravity tends to pull items towards the surface of the earth. …
- The salinity of the water. …
- Temperature. …
- Coriolis effect. …
- Underwater earthquakes.
What affects current flow?
Ohm’s law states that the electrical current (I) flowing in an circuit is proportional to the voltage (V) and inversely proportional to the resistance (R). … Similarly increasing the resistance of the circuit will lower the current flow if the voltage is not changed.
What are the factors that cause and influence the direction of ocean currents?
Winds water density and tides all drive ocean currents. Coastal and sea floor features influence their location direction and speed. Earth’s rotation results in the Coriolis effect which also influences ocean currents.
What factors affect how deep currents flow?
Deep ocean currents are density-driven and differ from surface currents in scale speed and energy. Water density is affected by the temperature salinity (saltiness) and depth of the water. The colder and saltier the ocean water the denser it is.
What are the 3 main factors that affect density?
What influences density in the ocean and why?
Which factors causes ocean water to become denser?
The two main factors that affect density of ocean water are the temperature of the water and the salinity of the water. The density of ocean water continuously increases with decreasing temperature until the water freezes.
What is the Coriolis effect caused by?
The Coriolis effect is a natural event in which objects seem to get deflected while traveling around and above Earth. The planet Earth is constantly rotating or spinning from west to east. Every 24 hours it completes a full rotation. This rotation causes the Coriolis effect.
What causes convection currents to form in the ocean?
The sun causes uneven heating which leads to differences in air pressure. This causes wind which moves the water at the surface of the ocean. … Uneven heating causes density differences in the water which causes convection currents.
What three factors control the path of a surface current?
Surface currents are controlled by three factors: global winds the Coriolis effect and continental deflections. surface create surface currents in the ocean. Different winds cause currents to flow in different directions. objects from a straight path due to the Earth’s rotation.
What causes density to increase or decrease?
How does salt affect density?
Density is the mass of a material per unit volume. … Adding salt to the water increases the density of the solution because the salt increases the mass without changing the volume very much.
What are the factors affecting the density of gases?
What is the primary cause of deep currents in the ocean?
In contrast to wind-driven surface currents deep-ocean currents are caused by differences in water density. The process that creates deep currents is called thermohaline circulation—“thermo” referring to temperature and “haline” to saltiness. … This water also cools and sinks keeping a deep current in motion.
What causes deep currents to form quizlet?
Deep currents are caused by differences in density. … The sinking of dense cold water paired with high salinity.
What causes surface currents quizlet?
What causes surface currents to move? It is caused by wind action Earth’s spin and the shape of the continents. Also the speed direction and volume of water can be affected by the uneven heating of the atmosphere. The force of wind blowing over the top of the Earth.
How does density cause horizontal and vertical currents?
The vertical circulation caused by density differences due to differences in ocean temperature and salinity is called the thermohaline circulation. Horizontal global ocean circulation is driven by wind stress at the ocean surface but vertical mixing is largely due to the thermohaline circulation.
How do ocean currents work? – Jennifer Verduin
What causes currents in the ocean?
Density Ocean Currents
