This topic is based on a video I watched on ted.ed. The researcher (?) was Jennifer Verduin, narrated by Addison Anderson, and illustrated by Ricke Ito. It honestly feels like I’m in a way cheating, but I’m learning something right?
“We live by the currents,
plan by the tides,
and follow the sun.”
SANDY GINGRAS
At 1992, a cargo shipment filled with bath toys hit a storm. The ship broke, letting 28,000 rubber duckies explore the sea. But those duckies didn’t stick together like you would expect. The rubber toys were found on shore all over the world, and scientist used this journey to help them know more about the ocean’s currents.
The currents of the ocean are driven by a few things: The wind, tide, water density, and earth’s rotation.
To understand this easier, the water is split into 2 parts. The Surface Currents, which contains the top 10% of the ocean; and the Deep Sea Currents which is the 90% rest of the water.
Surface Currents
…are mostly driven by wind—and tides, but still mostly wind. Surface Currents are those responsible for the small and slow waves we see on beach shores. In the open ocean, the wind flows and pulls the water along with itself. The above layer then pull the layer under. Even until the deepness 400m, the water is still influenced by wind.
There are big loops that are called Gyres. Those that are located in the northern-hemisphere flows clockwise. While the ones at the southern-hemisphere go counter-clockwise. This happens because of the earth’s rotation.
If the earth didn’t rotate, the air and water would just move back and forth between the equator and the two poles. But the earth does rotate. So air from the equator that heads to the north-pole moves or pushes eastward. And the air heading the equator moves west.
This creates a looping pattern called the Coriolis Effect.
Deep Ocean Currents
…a.k.a the other 90% of the ocean. This part of the currents are affected mostly because of water density. Water that moves towards the north-pole is colder and contains more salt (because water freezes, leaving the salt behind). Therefore, the water is denser letting it sink and have the warmer surface water take it’s place. This makes a vertical current labelled as Thermohaline Circulation.
These types of currents then all combine into a massive winding loop known as the Global Conveyor Belt. This “track” is very large, but it moves only a few centimeters/second. It could take a drop of water a thousand years to complete a full trip. But rising sea temperatures seem to be slowing down the conveyor belt.
No one knows what will happen as it slows down, or when it stops altogether. The only way to find out is by doing more research about the currents, and it’s way of moving.
Here is the video I learned all this from: