Transcript The Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream
Tuloso-Midway High
School
Historical
Importance
 Ben
Franklin
drew a map of
fastest route
across the
Atlantic based on
his voyage
measurements of
1775 – 1785—
Turns out it was
what is now
known as the Gulf
Stream
The Path

Global surface
currents are the
result of wind driven
force
 Moving water is
deflected like the air
by the Coriolis
effect
 The denser water is
deflected more than
the above air
The Path

Path of water is
influenced by global
wind bands –
Trades and
Westerlies
 Friction slows the
deflected water
throughout a depth
of about 150 meters
The Path
 Current
path is
also affected by
landforms
 Gulf Stream turns
sharply to the
east off Cape
Hatteras, NC
The Path
Tracking
the Floaters
YOTO
floats
 Drift
bottles
deployed in the
Gulf of Mexico
and the
Caribbean have
been followed by
satellites
 Data explains
current motion
What does this drifter path tell you about the
direction of the Gulf Stream?
Major Oceanic surface currents
The Understanding
Special
features
“There
is a
river in the
ocean”…
Mathew
Maury, 1855
 Origins
in the
Gulf of Mexico
and waters merge
with Caribbean
currents
 Travels around
the Straits of
Florida parallel to
East coast of the
U. S.
The Understanding
Special
features
 Carries
heat
energy toward the
continent of
Europe
 Some surface
water becomes
cooler, more
saline and sinks
near Norway
The Understanding
Special features

Gulf Stream water
temperatures are
substantially
warmer than the
waters to the North
 Act as a barrier
between Sargasso
Sea and North
Labrador current
The Understanding
 Gulf
stream
water
temperatures
are significantly
warmer down to
depths of 1000
meters
The Understanding
 Volume
of water
transported is
from 55 to 106
cubic meters per
second
 Current velocity
is dependent on
the width and
depth of current
Warm water species:
The Gulf Stream:
The shuttle
Endeavor
photographed
the Gulf Stream
off Newfoundland
in 1992.
FIVE FACTORS THAT
INFLUENCE CLIMATE
 1.
LATITUDE, LATITUDE, LATITUDE
 2. ELEVATION
 3. WINDS AND CURRENTS
 4. POSITION ON A
CONTINENT/PROXIMITY TO WATER
 5. LANDFORMS/TOPOGRAPHY
LATITUDE, LATITUDE,
LATITUDE
 Latitude
is the MOST IMPORTANT factor
affecting or influencing climate in a region
 Lower latitudes generally have warmer
climates
 Higher latitudes generally have colder
climates
EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE
 There
are exceptions to the rule that
Higher Latitudes generally have colder
climates
 Western Europe is an example --because of the Gulf Stream and the third
factor influencing climate: WINDS AND
CURRENTS
WESTERN EUROPE
 The
climates of Western Europe are
milder than places elsewhere on Earth that
have similar latitudes
 The reason: the warm waters of the Gulf
Stream and the winds that blow across
them towards the continent
 As
the Gulf Stream brings warm water
from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean
north and east towards Western Europe,
winds blow off of the Atlantic on shore
bringing with them the warmer air from the
current
 The result: a warmer climate in Western
Europe than in other places with similar
latitudes