Surface Winds and Surface Currents
Ocean currents are the movement of water from one location to another. There are ocean currents deep in the water and ocean currents near the surface of the water. Surface winds pull on the water at the ocean’s surface. In this way, surface winds contribute to ocean surface currents. Surface currents occur in the upper 100 meters (about 300 feet) of the ocean.
You can explore the relationship between surface winds and surface currents by observing the models shown in the videos. Play and watch the Surface Winds video, then the Surface Currents video. Then play both videos at the same time. Look for similarities in patterns between the winds and ocean currents. Replay the videos several times to allow yourself enough time to make observations.
Surface Winds
| Keyboard Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | Pause/Play video playback |
| Enter | Pause/Play video playback |
| m | Mute/Unmute video volume |
| Up and Down arrows | Increase and decrease volume by 10% |
| Right and Left arrows | Seek forward or backward by 5 seconds |
| 0-9 | Fast seek to x% of the video. |
| f | Enter or exit fullscreen. (Note: To exit fullscreen in flash press the Esc key. |
| c | Press c to toggle captions on or off |
Surface Currents
| Keyboard Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | Pause/Play video playback |
| Enter | Pause/Play video playback |
| m | Mute/Unmute video volume |
| Up and Down arrows | Increase and decrease volume by 10% |
| Right and Left arrows | Seek forward or backward by 5 seconds |
| 0-9 | Fast seek to x% of the video. |
| f | Enter or exit fullscreen. (Note: To exit fullscreen in flash press the Esc key. |
| c | Press c to toggle captions on or off |
Take Notes
What general patterns or relationships do you see? Provide evidence from the videos to support your observations.
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