what is the difference between surface and deep ocean currents?
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Deep ocean currents are density-driven and differ from surface currents in scale, speed, and energy. Water density is affected by the temperature, salinity (saltiness), and depth of the water. ... The greater the density differences between different layers in the water column, the greater the mixing and circulation.
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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.
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Ltd. A major difference between freshwater and ocean water is the salinity (amount of salt found in water). Ocean water has a good amount of salt in it while freshwater does have salt in it but the amount of salt in it isn't much.
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Deep ocean water is more nutrient-rich than surface water simply because things (nutrients, plankton carcasses, fish carcasses) in the ocean sink. Upwelling brings those lost/sunk nutrients back to the surface, which creates "blooms" of algae and zooplankton, which feed on those nutrients.
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Since the upper atmosphere currents move faster than the low atmosphere, the rising air currents in the low pressure system move faster than the sinking air currents in a high pressure system. This causes winds speeds in low pressure systems to be faster than in high pressure systems.
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Properties. The Gulf Stream proper is a western-intensified current, driven largely by wind stress. The North Atlantic Drift, in contrast, is largely driven by thermohaline circulation.
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Ocean currents are divided on the basis of temperature into currents,drifts and streams. The forward movement of surface water of theoceans under the influence of prevailing winds is called drift whereas the ocean current involves the movement of oceanic water in a definite direction with greater velocity.
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As adjectives the difference between oceanic and pelagic is that oceanic is of or relating to the ocean while pelagic is (biology) living in the open sea rather than in coastal or inland waters.
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Horizontal movements are called currents, which range in magnitude from a few centimetres per second to as much as 4 metres (about 13 feet) per second. A characteristic surface speed is about 5 to 50 cm (about 2 to 20 inches) per second. Currents generally diminish in intensity with increasing depth.
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Cold surface currents come from polar and temperate latitudes, and they tend to flow towards the equator. Similar to warm surface currents, cold surface currents are driven mainly by atmospheric forces and are influenced by the earth's rotation.
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The major difference is that the Gulf of Mexico is fairly shallow. It has a counterclockwise circulation. Because it is so shallow it is warmer at almost all times than the Atlantic, and because it is surrounded by land it is also saltier. ... A gulf is an area of one of the major oceans with distinct boundaries of land.
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Streamlike movements of water in the ocean are called currents. A current is like a river of water moving through the rest of the ocean's water. These currents are caused by the terrain of the ocean floor, the topography of the coast, and the rotation of the Earth on its axis.
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Horizontal, streamlike movements of water that occur at or near the surface of the ocean are called surface currents.
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Click the image for larger view. Coastal currents are intricately tied to winds, waves, and land formations. Winds that blow along the shoreline—longshore winds—affect waves and, therefore, currents. Before one can understand any type of surface current, one must understand how wind and waves operate.
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Deep water ocean currents are formed when cold, nutrient-rich water sinks and flows away from the surface. There are sources of deep water currents in the northern and southern hemispheres. Deep water currents return nutrients to the surface by a process known as upwelling.
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The rise and fall of the tides, which are driven by the gravitational attraction of the Sun and Moon on Earth's ocean are another cause of currents. Tidal currents are present in the ocean, near the shore, in bays and estuaries, and along the coast. The speed and direction of tidal currents are predictable.
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Warm ocean currents flow away from the equatorial region on the western side of ocean basins. The Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic and the Kuroshio Current in the North Pacific are examples of warm currents. Of all the warm currents, the Gulf Stream has been studied most extensively.