What is the connection between wind and ocean currents?

What is the connection between wind and ocean currents?

The winds pull surface water with them, creating currents. As these currents flow westward, the Coriolis effect—a force that results from the rotation of the Earth—deflects them. The currents then bend to the right, heading north.

What is the relationship between wind and water?

At first, the wind makes only small ripples on the water. As the wind continues the waves grow larger. The longer the wind blows, the larger the waves become. Waves form when energy is transferred from the air to the water.

How is the ocean connected to all water?

The ocean is an integral part of the water cycle and is connected to all of the earth’s water reservoirs via evaporation and precipitation processes. The ocean is connected to major lakes, watersheds and waterways because all major watersheds on Earth drain to the ocean.

How is wind created near an ocean?

Two simple examples of this are sea breezes and land breezes. Sea breezes occur when inland areas heat up on sunny afternoons. That warms the air, causing it to rise. Cooler air rushes in from the ocean to take its place and presto, a wind is born.

What are the causes of ocean current?

Oceanic currents are driven by three main factors:

• 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.

How does the wind affect the surface of the ocean?

Tides contribute to coastal currents that travel short distances. Major surface ocean currents in the open ocean, however, are set in motion by the wind, which drags on the surface of the water as it blows. The water starts flowing in the same direction as the wind. But currents do not simply track the wind.

Why does water flow in the same direction as the wind?

The water starts flowing in the same direction as the wind. But currents do not simply track the wind. Other things, including the shape of the coastline and the seafloor, and most importantly the rotation of the Earth, influence the path of surface currents.

How are the currents in the ocean set in motion?

Major surface ocean currents in the open ocean, however, are set in motion by the wind, which drags on the surface of the water as it blows. The water starts flowing in the same direction as the wind. But currents do not simply track the wind.

Where does the water go when it returns to the ocean?

This invisible vapor rises into the atmosphere, where the air is colder, and condenses into clouds. Air currents move these clouds all around the earth. Water drops form in clouds, and the drops then return to the ocean or land as precipitation – let’s say this time, it’s snow.