Surface Currents Essay, Research Paper

In the world?s oceans, the surface currents move the oceans? surface water. This occurs in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. From a diagram of these surface currents, a number of conclusions can be made about the general patterns of the surface currents. One of these conclusions includes that they go clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counter-clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere. The Northern Pacific circulation goes around in a clockwise rotation. The same thing happens in the North Atlantic. From this data you can conclude that in the Northern Hemisphere the surface currents move in a clockwise circulation and the Southern Hemisphere has a counterclockwise circulation. In the South Pacific, the same thing as in the Northern Hemisphere happens except that it goes counterclockwise rather then clockwise. It also happens in the South Indian and South Atlantic Ocean.

Another conclusion is the easternmost current is always cool, wide and slows and the westernmost current is warm, narrow and fast. In the North Pacific and North Atlantic, the westernmost current is moving north/northeast and is warm and narrow and in the Southern Hemisphere, the western most current is moving south and is warm and narrow. The easternmost current is cold and wide. For example, in the South Pacific, the eastern most current is moving north and it is cold and wide. Also, the northernmost currents in the Northern Hemisphere are cooling and are thick. The northernmost currents in the Southern Hemisphere are warming and are wide. In the South Indian, the northernmost current is moving west and is wide and warming.

The warm water from the Gulf Stream is pushed towards Europe and evaporates in between North America and Europe, therefore they get a lot more rain. Also, cold water replaces the warmer water that has evaporated (as we illustrate below).

The satellite plays a big role in finding ocean currents and the temperature. A space ship gets a satellite into orbit. It has to travel 25,000 mile per hour to break gravity, friction and drag- or INERTIA. Once it is through the atmosphere, the space ship releases the satellite. The satellite doesn?t float into outer space because it is held in orbit by the Earth?s gravitational pull and by INERTIA. The satellite has inferred sensors that absorb the Earth?s heat. The data collected can be made into what see on the television on the news and on the weather channel.