What is an example of wind driven circulation?
For example, between 30° and 50° latitude the climatological westerly wind drives an Ekman flow equatorward, while between 15° and 30° latitude the Trade Winds drive an Ekman flow polewards. At about 30° latitude the flows converge and sink into the deeper ocean.
What are the 3 major global wind belts?
“Between the poles and the equator, each hemisphere has three major surface wind belts: the polar easterlies, which extend from the poles to about 60 degrees latitude; the prevailing westerlies, which stretch from about 60 degrees to 35 degrees; and the trade winds, which pick up at about 30 degrees, and blow towards …
What drives the global atmospheric circulation?
The driving force behind atmospheric circulation is solar energy, which heats the atmosphere with different intensities at the equator, the middle latitudes, and the poles.
Is thermohaline circulation wind driven?
Thermohaline circulation begins in the Earth’s polar regions. When ocean water in these areas gets very cold, sea ice forms. The surrounding seawater gets saltier, increases in density and sinks. Winds drive ocean currents in the upper 100 meters of the ocean’s surface.
What is a wind driven?
Page 1. Wind driven circulation describes the process in which winds moving along the surface of the ocean push the water in their direction and create currents near the surface. These winds are subject to the Coriolis Effect, which creates their motion based on the rotation of the earth.
What is wind driven use of ocean water?
define two circulation types: (1) wind-driven circulation forced by wind stress on the sea surface, inducing a momentum exchange, and (2) thermohaline circulation driven by the variations in water density imposed at the sea surface by exchange of ocean heat and water with the atmosphere, inducing a buoyancy exchange.
What are global wind systems?
Large global wind systems are created by the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface. These global wind systems, in turn, drive the oceans’ surface currents.
What are the 4 types of global winds?
The four major wind systems are the Polar and Tropical Easterlies, the Prevailing Westerlies and the Intertropical Convergence Zone. These are also wind belts. There are three other types of wind belts, also. They are called Trade Winds, Doldrums, and Horse Latitudes.
Which winds are related to global air circulation?
Global atmospheric circulation – Polar, Ferrel and Hadley cells
- The movement of air across the planet occurs in a specific pattern.
- Air rises again at around 60° north and south and descends again around 90° north and south.
What is global wind system?
Image Credit: NASA. Large global wind systems are created by the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface. These global wind systems, in turn, drive the oceans’ surface currents.
What is wind-driven use of ocean water?
What is the Gulf Stream current?
The Gulf Stream is a strong ocean current that brings warm water from the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic Ocean. It extends all the way up the eastern coast of the United States and Canada. The Gulf Stream is a strong ocean current that brings warm water from the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic Ocean.