1. Ocean Currents

2. Climate

3. Vocabulary Ocean Current Specific Heat of Water Very High
Coriolis Effect
Rip Current
Density Currents
Due to temperature differences
Salt water vs. fresh water
Upwelling

4. Quick Review Weather isssss….
Local atmospheric conditions that are second to second; minute to minute; hour to hour; day to day.
Constantly changing

5. Quick Review Climate issss….
Average atmospheric conditions over larger regions and very long periods of time.
Consistent

6. What is Specific Heat?
Specific heat capacity is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance by one degree Celsius.  Every substance has its own specific heat capacity, with the specific heat capacity of water being 1 cal/(g°C).  
How substances absorb, store and release heat/thermal energy.
Density of water is 1 gr/cu.cm.
Water is the “Universal Solvent”.

7. Waters Specific Heat
The specific heat capacity of water is much higher than that of other common substances.  For the sake of comparison, the specific heat capacity of oil is about 0.5 cal/(g°C) and the specific heat capacity of aluminum is about 0.2 cal/(g°C).  This means that it takes a lot more heat to raise the temperature of water compared to the amount of heat it would take to raise the temperature of oil or aluminum.  And land’s averages about 0.2 cal/(g°C).
Therefore…

8. Why is it Important?
The high specific heat of water helps the earth's temperature remain moderate since water traps heat during the day and releases it slowly at night.  As a result, the temperature on earth's surface does not vary very widely, ranging from extremes of 134°F to -129°F.  For comparison, the moon has no liquid water and its temperatures can range from 240°F to -290°F. 
(The lack of atmosphere on the moon, along with other factors, also contributes to the wide range of temperature.)

9. Specific Heat of Land The sea - water has a very high heat capacity.
Water 4186 J/kg K
Land and soil is very low in comparison. Clay 1381 J/kg K  Wet mud 2512 J/kg K  Sand 830 J/kg K

10. Major Ocean Currents
An Ocean Current is a large volume of water flowing in a certain direction. Rivers of ocean water.
Wind-driven currents are called surface currents.
Surface currents carry warm or cold water horizontally across the ocean’s surface

11. Major Ocean Currents
Surface currents extend to about 400 m below the surface, and they move as fast as 100 km/day.
Earth’s major wind belts, called prevailing winds, influence the formation of ocean currents and the direction they move.

12. Rip Currents
A rip current is a narrow, powerful surface current which flows away from the shore.
It is caused by pressure building up from uneven buildup of water from waves.
They can flow very quickly and can be difficult to detect until you are in one.

13. Rip Currents are Dangerous!
Rip currents are responsible for about 150 deaths every year in the United States.
About 80 percent of all beach rescues are related to rip currents.
Rip currents don’t pull swimmers under, they flow out several hundred feet up to several miles.
If you get caught in a rip current, let it carry you until you stop or swim with the current. Then swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the current.

14. Coriolis Effect
The Coriolis Effect is the movement of wind and water to the right or left that is caused by Earth’s rotation.
It causes fluids such as air and water to curve to the right in the Northern hemisphere, in a clockwise direction.
The Coriolis effect also cases fluids to curve to the left in the southern hemisphere, in a counterclockwise direction.

15. Coriolis Effect
The shapes of continents and other land masses affect the flow and speed of currents.
Currents form small or large loops and move at different speeds, depending on the land masses they contact.

16. Upwelling
Upwelling is the vertical movement of water toward the ocean’s surface.
Upwelling occurs when wind blows across the ocean’s surface and pushes water away from an area. Deeper colder water then rises to replace it.
Upwelling often occurs along coastlines.
Upwelling brings cold, nutrient-rich water from deep in the ocean to the ocean’s surface.

17. Density Currents
Density Currents are a type of vertical current that carries water from the surface to deeper parts of the ocean.
Density Currents are caused by changes in density rather than wind.
Density currents circulate thermal energy, nutrients and gases.

18. Impacts of Weather and Climate
Warm-water currents and cold-water currents affect weather and climate in different ways
Regions near warm-water currents are often warmer and wetter than regions near cold-water currents

19. Impacts on Weather and Climate
The Gulf Stream is a warm-water current that affects coastal areas of the southwestern United States by transferring lots of thermal energy and moisture to the surrounding air.
The cold California Current affects coastal areas of the southwestern United States.

20. Great Ocean Conveyor Belt
The Great Ocean conveyor Belt is the name for a model of the large system of ocean currents that affects weather and climate by circulating thermal energy around Earth.
In this model, high salinity water cools and sinks in the North Atlantic, and deep water returns to the surface in the Indian and Pacific Oceans through upwelling

21. Great Ocean Conveyor Belt
Scientists estimate that the Great Ocean Conveyor Belt model takes about 1,000 years to complete a cycle.

23. El Nino y La Nina
Both terms refer to large-scale changes in sea-surface temperature across the central and eastern tropical Pacific. North and South American coastal regions.
El Niño is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific, as opposed to La Niña, which characterized by unusually cold ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific.
El Niño and La Niña are opposite phases of what is known as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

24. Girls are “cold hearted”
Simply put….
Sometimes El Niño is referred to as the warm phase of ENSO and La Niña as the cold phase of ENSO.
Boys are “hot headed”
and
Girls are “cold hearted”

25. Global Impact
Both El Niño and La Niña impact global and U.S. climate patterns.
In many locations, especially in the tropics, La Niña (or cold episodes) produces the opposite climate variations from El Niño. For instance, parts of Australia and Indonesia are prone to drought during El Niño, but are typically wetter than normal during La Niña.

26. El Niños Occurrences
Both, El Niño and La Niña occur on average every 3 to 5 years
El Niños are usually twice as frequent as LaNiñas
El Niños Conditions are short term, a few months to 1 year of observable climate variation s.
During a period of El Niños , the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean will be higher than normal by °C

27. La Nina Occurrences
El Niño and La Niña occur on average every 3 to 5 years
La Niñas have been only half as frequent as El Niños
La Niña conditions typically last approximately 9-12 months. Some episodes may persist for as long as two years.
During La Niña, the normal climate patterns are enhanced. For example, in areas that would normally experience a wet winter, conditions would likely be wetter than normal.
During a period of La Niña, the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean will be lower than normal by 3–5 °C

28. El and La Air Pressure Changes
The warm phase of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) with Sea Surface Temperatures (SST) in the eastern Pacific above average is calledEl Niño.
high air pressure in the western Pacific
low air pressure in the eastern Pacific
The cool phase of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) La Niña with Sea Surface Temperatures (SST) in the eastern Pacific below average is called La Niña.
Air pressures high in the eastern
low in western Pacific