Activity 5

Befor this activity I thought that the ocean currents only moved from north to south and them back again. I was wrong. I knew that the earths rotation (what we call the coriolis effect), and the moons gravitational pull generate the currents but I had no idea how complex these systems are. It appears as if the Atlantic currents are moving in a circular patturn in opposit directions in the north and south. The northern currents are moving in a clockwise direction while the southern currents are moving counter-clockwise(the Trade and Westerly Wind Belts. source: the map on our work sheet 'figure2'). Our continental boundaries deflect the flow, giving it its circular flow. The coriolis effect does not only reffer to our planet but any object that rotates and, has a fluid on it's surface that cannot keep up with this spinning. This does connect to my topic, since greenhouse gases are also moving along with the fluids on the serface of the planet.