TEACHER BACKGROUND Unit 2 - Ocean Currents and the Open Ocean

Mapping Ocean Currents Lesson by Eugene Williamson, Whitford Intermediate School,

Beaverton, Oregon.

Key Concepts
1. Surface currents are a response to the
uneven heating of the earth by the sun.
2. Temperature differences cause warmer
water near the equator to swell and flow
outward toward the poles.
3. Similar warming and expansion of the
atmosphere causes winds which drag the
water along.
4. The effects of temperature and the
rotation of the earth on its axis and the
positions of the continents lead to the
complex patterns found on the sea surface.
5. Currents have considerable effect on
human activities. From transportation to
moderation of local climates, humans
depend on ocean currents.

Background
Three concepts are strongly related to surface currents:
1. Water in the Northern Hemisphere tends to move to the right of the wind
direction, creating a clockwise motion. Water in the Southern Hemisphere
tends to move to the left of the wind direction, creating a counter-
clockwise motion. In 1905, Eckmann determined a theoretical value for
this phenomenon, known as the Ekman Spiral, that showed that the net
transport of surface waters is at 45° to the right of the wind in the
Northern Hemisphere and 45° to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
2. This deflection of the water is the result of the Coriolis Effect. Objects,
or ocean currents, moving through the Northern Hemisphere are deflected
to the right because of changes in angular momentum that occur with
changes in latitude. The opposite effect is seen in the Southern
Hemisphere. This, in part, accounts for the clockwise rotation of the major
current gyre north of the Equator and the counter-clockwise rotation south
of the equator. The currents are further deflected by continents and by
interaction with other surface currents.

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3. There are distinct differences between Eastern Boundary Currents and

Western Boundary Currents. These differences are also a function of the
earth’s rotation. Western Boundary Currents, like the Kuroshio and the
Gulf Stream, are flowing toward the west and against a continent that has
a shape that pushes the current back out toward the east. This causes the
current to become narrow and deep, and to have relatively high velocities.
This is somewhat analogous to putting your thumb over the end of a hose
and constricting water flow. These currents also warm, but this is a
function of their position, and not of the earth’s rotation.

Eastern Boundary Currents, like the Peru and the California flow eastward
and against a continent that is angled away from the current. The result is
broad, shallow currents that have low velocities. These currents are cold,
again because they are the conduit for returning water from the polar
regions to the equator.

Materials
For class of 32:
• Maps and other reference materials, such as oceanography texts, that
show ocean currents
For each student:
• Copies of blank maps
• Colored pencils, one color for warm currents and one for cold currents

Teaching Hints
“Mapping Ocean Currents” involves students in mapping ocean currents
and then interpreting those maps. The activity gives students a chance to
discover circulation patterns for themselves, rather than having them

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presented in lecture format. The question set included may be expanded or

reduced. The important thing is to get students to look at and interpret the
evidence. Plan on at least part of one period to discuss the conclusions
drawn by your students.
Mapping Currents will take two to three class periods.
1. Use a transparency to show students how you want the currents mapped.
Western Boundary Currents should be represented by arrows that are
wider than those used for Eastern Boundary Currents. Using just one
arrow for each current simplifies the drawing and also makes the gyres
more obvious.
2. Remind students that the names and positions of currents on reference
maps are human constructs and that differences of opinion exist. They
may need to use several references to establish a reasonable position for
currents. Also, currents have no beginning or end in the real ocean. The
whole of the ocean is in constant motion. There should not be big gaps
left between the head of one arrow and the tail of the next.
3. Arrows with two heads are effective to show currents, like the North
Atlantic Drift, that split when they come in contact with a land mass.
4. Modify the list of currents given to fit the reference materials available to
you.

Key Words
boundary current - major currents which occupy the eastern and
western edges of the oceanic gyres
Coriolis Effect - the apparent change in direction of objects moving
across the earth’s surface, caused by the earth’s rotation, to the right in
the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
drift - the speed at which a current moves
gyre - a pattern made of four or five currents that dominate the circulation
pattern of the ocean in each hemisphere, clockwise in the Northern
Hemisphere, and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere
relative temperature - in this case, the temperature of a current
compared to the temperature of the ocean surrounding it
set - the direction in which a current is moving, i.e. the set of the
California current is generally to the south

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Extensions
1. Have students research the work of Coriolis and report on its significance.
2. Have students research the disruption of normal current patterns that we
call the El Niño. Report to the class on the effects that this phenomenon
has on human activities.
3. Have students explain, using drawings, why early sailing ships delivering
goods and mail to the United States from Europe would sail south and then
along the Equator rather than following the much shorter route across the
North Atlantic to New England. Find out where Columbus first made
landfall in the Americas, and based on where he sailed from Europe,
explain why this would be the expected result of his first voyage.

Answer Key
1. Current temperature is measured relative to the temperature of the ocean
water that surrounds it. If the ocean surface temperature is 25° C, then a
current that has water of 23° C is a cold current. The opposite is true for
some very cold waters entering polar regions. They are considered warm
because the surrounding ocean in even colder.
2. In the Northern Hemisphere, currents move in a clockwise direction. In
the Southern Hemisphere, they move counterclockwise.
3. London is farther north than is New York. Base on this information,
London would be expected to have very cold and bitter winters.
4. The North Atlantic Drift brings warmer waters from the Gulf Stream. The
latent heat in these waters warms the atmosphere and keeps the climate
relatively mild.
5. Global wind patterns match reasonably well with the movement of ocean
currents. The patterns do not match exactly in part because continents
present only a minor barrier to the movement of wind currents, whereas
they block and deflect ocean currents.
6. Ocean currents transport heated waters from the equatorial regions into
the colder polar regions, helping to balance the earth’s heat budget. At
the same time waters that have lost their heat at the poles are being
returned to the equator, thereby cooling that region.
7. The Trade Winds are responsible for the Equatorial Currents. The
disruption of these normally steady and dependable currents can result in
the formation of an El Niño.
8. The east sides of continents have warm currents flowing off shore. The
west sides of continents have cold currents.

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9. The four currents that make up the South Pacific gyre are the South
Equatorial, the East Australia, the Antarctic Circumpolar, and the
Humboldt.

10. Answers will vary.

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Pacific Ocean

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Atlantic Ocean

Indian Ocean

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Mapping Ocean Currents

Ocean surface currents greatly influence all kinds of human activities,

sometimes without our realizing it. The climate of every coastal region is
absolutely dictated by the ocean currents that flow past it. Ships at sea use
currents to help them make quicker and less expensive ocean crossings.
The location and direction of flow of ocean currents is determined by the
uneven heating of the earth and by the rotation of the earth on its axis. A
map of ocean currents reveals some of the patterns that develop as these
currents move heat from the equator to the poles.
Currents are described in terms of their location, their speed of flow, or
drift, and their direction of flow, or set. In this activity you will use several
resources to map some major ocean surface currents. Then you will use the
maps to help you understand how currents influence our lives.

To complete this activity you will need:

• maps of the world’s ocean
• two colored pencils, red for warm currents and blue for cold currents
• reference materials

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Directions:
[Link] the reference materials to determine the location, set, and relative
temperature (warm or cold) of each current.

[Link] one arrow on your map for each current. Use red for warm currents
and blue for cold. Place an arrow head to indicate direction of flow.

[Link] you find that two sources disagree on the location or temperature of a
current, try to find a third source that will resolve the problem. Currents do
change location and strength during the year, so maps will not necessarily
agree.

[Link] that the entire ocean is in motion. The head of one arrow
should reach very close to the tail of the next arrow on your map. The
currents that appear on any map are just the names given by humans to
portions of the overall circulation patterns in the ocean.

[Link] currents have more than one name. These are listed below
with the preferred name first. You may use either name when labeling your
map.

[Link] you have completed the maps, use them and the reference
materials to help you answer the interpretation questions that follow.

Map the following currents:

Atlantic Ocean:
Antarctic Circumpolar (West Wind Drift) C.
Antilles (Bahamas) C.
Benguela C.
Brazil C.
Canary C.
East Greenland C.
Equatorial Counter (Guinea) C.
Falkland
Florida C.
Gulf Stream
Irminger C.
North Atlantic Drift
North Equatorial C.
Norway C.
South Equatorial C.

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West Greenland C.
Indian Ocean:
Aghulas C.
Antarctic Circumpolar (West Wind Drift) C,
Equatorial Counter C.
Monsoon Drifts
Mozambique C.
North Equatorial C.
South Equatorial C.
West Australia C.
Pacific Ocean:
Alaska C.
Antarctic Circumpolar (West Wind Drift) C.
California C.
Davidson C. (optional)
East Australia C.
Equatorial Counter C.
Humboldt (Peru) C.
Kuroshio (Japan) C.
North Equatorial C.
North Pacific C.
Oyashio C.
South Equatorial C.

Analysis Questions
1. Explain why a current found near the equator might be considered a cold
current, while currents found far from the equator, like the North Atlantic
Drift, are considered to be warm currents.

2. Notice that ocean waters move in large, circular patterns called gyres.
How does the pattern of the gyre in the Northern Hemisphere compare to
the pattern for the gyre in the Southern Hemisphere?

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3. Compare the latitude of London to the latitude of New York. Which is

farther north? What kind of winter weather might you expect that far north?

4. Given that London has generally mild winters with lots of fog, but not
much ice and snow, how do you think the North Atlantic Drift affects the
climate there?

5. How does the direction of surface currents compare to the direction of the
global winds? Why don’t the currents follow the exact same paths that are
followed by the winds?

6. After making careful observations of the location of both warm and cold
currents, write one or two sentences explaining the affect that surface
currents have on the temperatures of the poles and the equator.

7. What set of global winds is responsible for the strong and steady
Equatorial Currents? What is the name given to the phenomenon that occurs
when these currents are weakened and disrupted?

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8. Make a generalization about current temperatures along: (a) the east

sides of the continents, and (b) the west sides of continents.

9. What are the four currents that make up the South Pacific gyre?

10. In what ways do ocean surface currents influence your life?

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