why is europe warmer than northern canada? by rebecca s
TRANSCRIPT
Why is Europe warmer than
Northern Canada?By Rebecca S.
Introduction
Northern Canada and Europe are located on the same line of latitude, but they have
completely different climates and weather patterns. Did you ever wonder why this
was? It all has to do with a very important current, the Gulf Stream.
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What is the Gulf Stream?
The Gulf Stream is the second largest current
system in the world, and the largest system in the
Atlantic Ocean. It is formed off the coast of
Florida and ends in northwest Europe. The average temperature of
the Gulf Stream is 77 degrees Fahrenheit, which keeps the air
temperature of the earth warmer in some places.
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How does the Gulf Stream work?
Winds from the Artic cool the surface water in the Atlantic.
The cool water becomes denser and saltier, so it sinks to the ocean floor. Then, the new
surface water begins to warm as it moves to the equator. The
Gulf Stream moves the warm water in the Gulf of Mexico to
the Atlantic to replace the cold water that moved toward the equator. The Gulf Stream is
classified as a convection current because the cold water sinks and the warm water rises.
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What is a Convection Current?
Convection currents are caused by the expansion
of a liquid (or gas or solid) as its temperature
gets higher. The less dense, warmer liquid rises and the denser, cold liquid sinks. The
Gulf Stream is a convection current.
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Specific Heat Capacity of Water
The quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of a substance by one degree Celsius is
known as the heat capacity of water. Every substance has a different heat capacity; however,
water has a very high heat capacity. Water takes a long time to warm in the sun, but it also takes a long time to cool during the night. Water resists change in temperature because of its high heat capacity.
The Gulf Stream keeps the water warm, which helps the climate in some parts of the worldQuickTime™ and a
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Water stays hot for a long
amount of time.
How does the Gulf Stream impact the Climate in Europe?
The Gulf Stream carries warm waters to the
Atlantic near Europe and stays warm until it
starts to cool. The Gulf Stream plays a major
role in warming France, England, and other
European countries. The warm waters keep the air warm in Europe.
“This Gulf Stream is a huge heat generator
that enables the coasts of Europe to be decked in eternal greenery…” –
Jules Verne
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Why is Europe warmer than Canada?
Part of Canada and Europe are on the same
line of latitude, but Canada is much colder than Europe. Why is
this? It is because of the Gulf Stream. The Gulf
Stream does not go near Canada, so the warm
waters do not make the air warm, but the Gulf
Stream does go towards Europe, which makes it
warmer over there.
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Snow covered mountains in
Canada.
Eiffel Tower in
Paris.
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The Gulf Stream is
shown in this picture in the lighter blue,
green, yellow, and red. You can see that it
goes up the east coast and
cuts across the Atlantic
and goes over to Europe
On the next slide I have my graph. I asked 20 adults why Europe is
warmer than Canada, then graphed their responses as either correct, incorrect, or “don’t know”.
Why is Europe Warmer than Canada?
11
4
5
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Correct Incorrect Didn't Know
Adult Responses
# of Responses
Vocabulary Words
Convection current: caused by the expansion of a liquid (or gas or solid) as its temperature gets higherTemperature: The property of a material that tells how warm or cold it is relative to some standard. In an ideal gas, the molecular kinetic energy per moleculeSpecific heat capacity: quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of a substance by one degree Celsius
Current: A current is the rate of fluid flow, especially water in a river or ocean. A current can be any continuous, directed movement of a
fluid.
Related Links: The following sites were used to gather information and images.
NASA Observtory From this website I used a good image of the Gulf Stream
Other Students “Biggie Question” projects
Mrs. Peck’s Physics Homepage
CNES I got some really good information from this site.The Cooperative for Marine and Atmospheric Studies I got some very useful information from this site.
BBC Weather Center This website had very good, through information about the Gulf Stream.
California State University This website had very useful information and it was very easy to understand.
The End