global ocean conveyor belt, a cold salty deep
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Global Ocean Conveyor Belt,
A Cold Salty DeepELF Activity: Hydrosphere 3A
http://andrill.org/education/elf_activities_3A.html
As part of NOAA Environmental Literacy Grant #NA09SEC490009 to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's, ANDRILL Science Management Office.
This material is based on work supported by an Environmental Literacy Grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Education (NA0909SEC4690009) and prior work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants ANT-0342484 and ESI-0632175. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NOAA or the NSF.
In the above picture notice how the waters of all the oceans are connected.
www.noaa.gov
There is only one ocean and the waters are not still.
Due to winds and surface currents, the waters continually move and mix.
This map shows the movement of surface water due to the action of the winds.
www.noaa.gov
Cold, salty, dense water sinks under warmer fresher water.
The sinking of cold water at the poles and its replacement by warmer water from the equator creates a current.
This is called a thermohaline circulation because it is based on temperature and water density due to salt content.
thermo = temperature haline = salt
Image: national academy of sciences
Warm water carried north away from the Equator provides Europe with mild winters.
Satellite image showing water temperatures along the eastern U.S.
Images: www.noaa.gov
In these two activities (Cold Salty Deep and Global Ocean Conveyer Belt), students create models of ocean currents to demonstrate the thermohaline circulation of water throughout the Earth’s system.
This material is based on work supported by an Environmental Literacy Grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s Office of Education (NA09SEC4690009) and prior work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants
ANT-0342484 and ESI-0632175. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or the National
Science Foundation.http://andrill.org/education/elf/activities