The Fascinating World of Ocean Currents - Jennifer Verduin

🌊 Ocean currents are influenced by factors such as winds, tides, density variations, and the Earth's rotation.

🦆 The movement of rubber ducks and other toys released from a cargo ship in a storm helped researchers map global ocean currents.

🌍 Ocean currents can be divided into surface currents and deep currents, with surface currents controlling 10% and deep currents controlling 90% of the upper ocean.

🌊 Ocean currents are influenced by surface and deep currents, which keep the entire ocean in motion.

💨 Surface currents near the shore are driven by winds, tides, and waves, causing the water to move back and forth and change the water level.

🌪️ Surface currents form large circular patterns called gyres, rotating clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere.

🌊 Ocean currents are created by the movement of air and water between low-pressure and high-pressure areas on the Earth.

🌀 The Coriolis effect causes most air currents to form circular patterns above the oceans, redistributing heat around the Earth.

💧 Deep ocean currents are mainly generated by changes in seawater density, with cold and highly saline water sinking towards the bottom.

🌊 Ocean currents are formed by the combination of deep-water circulation and surface winds, creating a global conveyor belt.

🌍 The global conveyor belt is the longest current in the world, but it moves very slowly, taking thousands of years to complete a single journey.

🌡️ The temperature of the ocean water affects the movement of the conveyor belt, and changes in its speed can disrupt weather patterns.