Ocean Currents Quiz

Deep ocean currents are driven primarily by ________ and caused by ________.

• wind; the Coriolis effect and land

• latitude; differences in salinity and land

• density differences; the Coriolis effect and land

• density differences; differences in salinity and temperature

• wind; gravity and density

Ocean surface currents transfer about ________ of the total amount of heat from the tropics to the poles.

• one-fourth

• one-third

• one-half

• two-thirds

• three-fourths

Surface ocean currents are driven primarily by ________ and modified by ________.

• density differences; the Coriolis effect and land

• density differences; differences in salinity and temperature

• latitude; differences in salinity and land

• wind; the Coriolis effect and land

• wind; gravity and density

Which of the following statements is true of surface ocean currents?

• Surface currents concentrate warm water in the center of the gyre at mid latitudes.

• Surface currents form circular patterns in the major ocean basins called gyres.

• Surface currents occur within and below the pycnocline.

• Surface currents transport cold water toward the poles.

• Surface currents transport warm water toward the equator.

Equatorial currents are driven by the ________.

• Ekman transport

• density

• Coriolis force

• westerlies

• trade winds

The Ekman spiral is caused by ________.

• density differences in the water column

• the wind and gravity

• the wind and the Coriolis effect

• the pycnocline

• pressure gradients

Which type of current flow moves in a circular path around a subtropical convergence, reflecting Ekman transport, gravity, and the Coriolis effect?

• Counter-current circulation

• Density-driven circulation

• Geostrophic circulation

• Langmuir circulation

• Thermohaline circulation

In the northern hemisphere, the direction of Ekman transport is always ________.

• at a 45° angle from the wind direction

• parallel to the wind direction

• to the east of the wind direction

• to the left of the wind direction

• to the right of the wind direction

Geostrophic circulation within a gyre is driven by ________.

• density and the wind

• gravity and the Coriolis effect

• temperature and pressure

• the wind and pressure

• salinity and gravity

Western intensification causes ________.

• a steeper slope of surface water in the western section of the gyre as compared to the eastern section of the gyre

• equatorial countercurrents

• the center of the gyre to be shift to the west

• very swift western boundary currents

• All of the choices are the result of westward intensification.