What relationship do the trade wind have with ocean currents?
In the Northern Hemisphere, for example, predictable winds called trade winds blow from east to west just above the equator. The winds pull surface water with them, creating currents. As these currents flow westward, the Coriolis effect—a force that results from the rotation of the Earth—deflects them.
How do strong trade winds affect the ocean?
When the trade winds are stronger than normal during La Niña, the winds push more surface water to the western half of the Pacific basin. This wind-driven disturbance creates a large area along the equator where the ocean surface temperatures are below normal.
What is the relationship between ocean currents and air currents?
Ocean currents are great streams of water flowing both near the oceans surface and far below it. Prevailing winds (air currents) that blow over parts of the ocean push the water along, creating surface currents.
What currents are driven by the trade winds?
Trade winds drive both North and South Equatorial Currents westward, thus transporting warm ocean-surface waters in that direction.
Why trade winds are called trade winds?
The trade winds were named by the crews of sailing ships that depended on the winds during westward ocean crossings. …
Where are the trade winds?
The trade winds can be found about 30 degrees north and south of the equator. Right at the equator there is almost no wind at all—an area sometimes called the doldrums.
What is the relationship between global winds and global ocean currents?
Large-scale surface ocean currents are driven by global wind systems that are fueled by energy from the sun. These currents transfer heat from the tropics to the polar regions, influencing local and global climate.
Why are trade winds called trade winds?
What do trade winds do?
The trade winds are winds that reliably blow east to west just north and south of the equator. The winds help ships travel west, and they can also steer storms such as hurricanes, too. For example, high in the atmosphere, the jet streams typically blow across Earth from west to east.
Why trade wind is called trade wind?
The trade winds were named by the crews of sailing ships that depended on the winds during westward ocean crossings.
Why are the trade winds important?
Known to sailors around the world, the trade winds and associated ocean currents helped early sailing ships from European and African ports make their journeys to the Americas. Likewise, the trade winds also drive sailing vessels from the Americas toward Asia.
How are wind currents and ocean currents related?
Global winds and ocean currents are responsible for distributing global heat, which directly affects continental climates. To understand how these currents form, a knowledge of the impacts of Earth’s motion is necessary.
What did the trade winds do to ships?
Ships like the Morgan often used routes defined by the trade winds to navigate the ocean. Known to sailors around the world, the trade winds and associated ocean currents helped early sailing ships from European and African ports make their journeys to the Americas. Likewise, the trade winds also drive sailing vessels from the Americas toward Asia.
What causes surface ocean currents in northern hemisphere?
Surface Ocean Currents. Atmospheric circulation and the Coriolis effect create global wind patterns including the trade winds and westerlies. Click the image for a larger view. In the Northern Hemisphere, warm air around the equator rises and flows north toward the pole.
How is the Coriolis effect related to ocean currents?
This deflection, called the Coriolis Effect, sets up the complex global wind patterns that drive surface ocean currents. It is named after the French mathematician Gaspard Gustave de Coriolis (1792-1843), who studied waterwheels to understand the transfer of energy in rotating systems.