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Geosciences LibreTexts

9: Ocean Circulation

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Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter you should:

  • know the major ocean surface currents of the world (i.e. the gyres) and how they are created
  • know the features of the Gulf Stream, including the formation of warm and cold core rings
  • understand the causes and effects of the Ekman spiral
  • understand geostrophic flow, and how it helps keep the gyres flowing even when wind dies down.
  • understand why gyre currents are more intense on the western side of the oceans – i.e. western intensification
  • know what causes upwelling and downwelling, and the impacts of these events on primary production
  • know the locations of some of the major upwelling regions on Earth
  • understand the causes and effects of ENSO events
  • understand Langmuir cells
  • understand the processes that drive thermohaline circulation
  • understand how T-S diagrams work
  • know the major global sites of deep water formation
  • be familiar with the major global water masses
  • understand how deep water circulates throughout the world ocean

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9: Ocean Circulation is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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