Name: Period: Date:

Major Ocean Currents Around the World Consider each of the following currents. Take a look at the main flows (bright arrows), and analyze how

local geography and topography (i.e. continental shelves) combine with water temperatures to generate

these flows.

GULF STREAM (Eastern United States)

AGULHAS CURRENT (Southeast Africa and Madagascar)

KUROSHIO CURRENT (Philippines, Taiwan, Japan)

EQUATORIAL CURRENTS (Westward flow in Pacific, away from Galapagos Islands)

PLEASE NOTE THAT IN EACH OF THESE IMAGES, THE TOP (UP) SIDE OF THE IMAGE IS NORTH.

Analysis and comparison:

What features do these currents share in common?

What (if any) notable differences do you see?

Evaluation:

Read the following paragraph and consider the question.

For decades, this was known as the “Ocean Conveyor Belt,” however, this model has evolved. The

meridional overturning circulation (MOC) model replaces what has traditionally been thought of as the

“ocean conveyor belt" model. For decades, the conveyor belt concept described the large-scale sinking,

rising, and flow of ocean water due to the influence of water temperature, salinity, and density. The

concept was often used synonymously with the term thermohaline circulation, a phrase that remained

inconsistently defined and could not be described mathematically. With recent advances in ocean

research techniques (including satellite observations, the deployment of fleets of thousands of drifting

data-sensing floats, and fine-resolution computer ocean circulation models), it is recognized that the

long-standing ocean conveyor belt model greatly oversimplifies the complexities of ocean circulation; it

does not adequately account for factors such as winds and tides on the mixing of waters, and the crucial

role of ocean eddies. While this lesson provides an overview of a number of aspects of the ocean’s

circulation, it does not specifically explore, or address, the meridional overturning circulation model.

(The MOC is sometimes referred to simply as overturning circulation.)

How do technological development and the analysis of data help to further our understanding of ocean

systems specifically, and broad scientific phenomena more generally?

Prediction:

How might these currents affect other areas “downstream” of their flow?