Why is the California coast so cold?

Why is the California coast so cold?

The water along the coast of California is cold for a couple of reasons. First, the California Current brings cold water from Alaska southward along the coast. And second, cold water from the deep ocean comes up to the surface through a process called upwelling. So water from the deep ocean is sucked to the surface.

Is the California current strong or weak?

One example are the nitrogen isotope ratios in macroalgae. California current is a very wide, cold and strong current. It runs southward down North America.

Is the California Current fast or slow?

Question: Can you tell us what the speeds are that correspond to the California Current ? Schwartzlose: The average speed of the general California Current is about 4 to 4 knot (12.5-25 cm/sec) .

How does the California Current affect climate?

The California Current moves less water than the Gulf Stream does. But the California Current has a big effect on the climate of the West Coast of the United States. Usually, the climate along the West Coast is cooler than the climate of inland areas at the same latitude and elevation.

Are upwellings unpredictable?

The upwelling depends on the wind. It’s one great interconnected roundabout that turns like clockwork. But we know nature is highly unpredictable. At times, the gentle ticking of the system in cadence is overwhelmed by nature’s occasional and dramatic extremes.

What would happen if the ocean conveyor belt stopped?

If ocean currents were to stop, climate could change quite significantly, particularly in Europe and countries in the North Atlantic. In these countries, temperatures would drop, affecting humans as well as plants and animals. In turn, economies could also be affected, particularly those that involve agriculture.

Why are upwellings important?

Because the deep water brought to the surface is often rich in nutrients, coastal upwelling supports the growth of seaweed and plankton. These, in turn, provide food for fish, marine mammals, and birds. Upwelling generates some of the world’s most fertile ecosystems.

Which ocean current determines weather changes?

Answer: The Gulf Stream determines climate change. Thermohaline circulation occurs due to the difference in the temperatures, densities, and salinities of the waters, and determines climate changes.

What are the 3 types of ocean currents?

Two major kinds of currents define the planet’s oceans: surface currents driven by wind and deep-water currents driven by variations in seawater density.

• Surface Currents. •••
• Deep-water Currents. •••
• Measuring Currents. •••
• Currents vs. Tides.
• Ocean Currents & Humankind. •••

What are the 5 major ocean currents?

There are five major gyres: the North Atlantic, the South Atlantic, the North Pacific, the South Pacific and the Indian Ocean Gyre, see figure 1. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is situated in the Southern Ocean and constantly circles around Antarctica because there are no land masses to interrupt the currents.

What drives thermohaline circulation?

Thermohaline circulation begins in the Earth’s polar regions. When ocean water in these areas gets very cold, sea ice forms. These deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in the water’s density, which is controlled by temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline). This process is known as thermohaline circulation.

What happens if thermohaline circulation stops?

And even if the thermohaline circulation did shut down, winds would still likely drive the Gulf Stream; however, there would be less warm water from the tropics and the Gulf Stream could become cooler and not reach as far north.

How long does thermohaline circulation take?

about 1,000 years

What causes deep ocean circulation?

In contrast to wind-driven surface currents, deep-ocean currents are caused by differences in water density. The process that creates deep currents is called thermohaline circulation—“thermo” referring to temperature and “haline” to saltiness.

What is the strongest current in the ocean?

Antarctic Circumpolar Current

Whats a deep current?

The ocean currents known since antiquity are called surface currents. The majority of the ocean’s currents take the form of a temperature- and salinity-driven “conveyor belt” that slowly churns water within the abyssal depths. These loops of water circulation are called deep currents.

What are the causes of ocean current?

Ocean currents can be caused by wind, density differences in water masses caused by temperature and salinity variations, gravity, and events such as earthquakes or storms. Currents are cohesive streams of seawater that circulate through the ocean.

What are the 4 types of ocean currents?

Currents, The North Equatorial Current, the Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic Current, and the Canary Current.

What are the three effects of ocean current?

The effects of ocean currents are: Affect Temperatures: Currents influence the climatic conditions of the regions in which they flow. The warm Equatorial currents raise the temperature of the region in which they flow. Similarly, the cold currents lower the temperature of the places where they flow.

What are the two current systems?

Currents are caused by winds, gravity, and variations in water density in different parts of the ocean. There are two distinct current systems in the oceans–surface circulation, which stirs a relatively thin upper layer of the sea, and deep circulation, which sweeps along the deepsea floor.

What’s the difference between tide and current?

Tides go up and down; currents move left and right. Tides are characterized by water moving up and down over a long period of time. When used in association with water, the term “current” describes the motion of the water. Oceanic currents are driven by several factors. One is the rise and fall of the tides.

What are the major currents?

There are five major ocean-wide gyres—the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, and Indian Ocean gyres. Each is flanked by a strong and narrow “western boundary current,” and a weak and broad “eastern boundary current” (Ross, 1995).

What three 3 things cause currents?

Oceanic currents are driven by three main factors:

• The rise and fall of the tides. Tides create a current in the oceans, which are strongest near the shore, and in bays and estuaries along the coast.
• Wind. Winds drive currents that are at or near the ocean’s surface.
• Thermohaline circulation.

What is responsible for deepwater currents?

The differences in water temperature and salinity are responsible for deep water or ocean currents. Other inducing factors for water currents are wind, cabbeling, Coriolis effect and breaking waves.

What does gyre mean?

A gyre is a large system of rotating ocean currents. The ocean churns up various types of currents. Together, these larger and more permanent currents make up the systems of currents known as gyres.

Why is ocean water salty?

Rivers discharge mineral-rich water to the oceans. Satellite view of La Plata River discharge to the Atlantic Ocean. One way minerals and salts are deposited into the oceans is from outflow from rivers, which drain the landscape, thus causing the oceans to be salty.