...Waves are up and down movements, caused by the action of winds on the water surfaces. Waves move in the direction of winds. When ocean levels rise and fall at regualr intervals during the course of the day. This is referred to as the tide. Tides are caused by the gravitational attraction between the moon and the Earth. The horizontal and vertical circulation of ocean waters creates currents. Major causes of ocean currents are wind, friction, gravity, and variations in water density in different parts of the oceans. These currents modify local climates. They distribute the heat energy form one latitude to another. Let us learn now about the circulation of ocean currents. The Currents : An ocean current can be defined as a horizontal movement of seawater at the ocean’s surface. Ocean currents are driven by the circulation of wind above surface waters. Frictional stress at the interface between the ocean and the wind causes the water to move in the direction of the wind. Large ocean currents are a response of the atmosphere and ocean currents are responsible for the flow of energy from the tropics to polar regions. In some cases, currents are transient features and affect only a small area. Other ocean currents are essentially permanent and extend over large horizontal distances. On a global scale, large ocean currents are constrained by the continental masses found bordering the three oceanic basins. Continental borders cause these currents to develop an almost...
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...Due to new scientific evidence the world could face an economic disaster, we call it Global cooling. For many decades we have come to the conclusion of the more pollution, the more the world’s temperature increases but this is all about to change. Global cooling is caused by Global Warming heating up the world and melting the ice caps. The ice caps then release fresh water, which now dilutes into the Arctic waters making it less salty. This means the Gulf Stream will no longer sink to the ocean floor and will not make its return journey to the Gulf of Mexico. As soon as the Gulf Stream switches off there is no warm air reaching the Artic. In result the temperature drops so that ice ends up covering large parts of Europe and North America. Global cooling also increases the rainfall in places like Russia. In Russia the three great rivers now empty huge amounts of freshwater into the ocean due to the unexpected heavier rainfall. Global cooling will have an immense effect on living and non-living organisms all because of the pollution exposed into the earth’s atmosphere. Yet, many people argue that global warming and global cooling is a natural issue that has nothing to do with human activity despite all of the scientific evidence to prove so. Other people believe global cooling is happening and at a very fast rate and humans are going to have to adapt to these Artic like conditions. It is very likely global cooling will take action is the world doesn’t change its ways and...
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...How Global Warming May Cause the Next Ice Age... If you look at a globe, you'll see that the latitude of much of Europe and Scandinavia is the same as that of Alaska and permafrost-locked parts of northern Canada and central Siberia. Yet Europe has a climate more similar to that of the United States than northern Canada or Siberia. Why? The warmth in Europe is the result of ocean currents that bring warm surface water up from the equator into northern regions that would otherwise be so cold that even in summer they'd be covered with ice. The current of greatest concern is often referred to as "The Great Conveyor Belt," which includes what we call the Gulf Stream. The Great Conveyor Belt, while shaped by the Coriolis effect of the Earth's rotation, is mostly driven by the greater force created by differences in water temperatures and salinity. The North Atlantic Ocean is saltier and colder than the Pacific, the result of it being so much smaller and locked into place by the Northern and Southern American Hemispheres on the west and Europe and Africa on the east. As a result, the warm water of the Great Conveyor Belt evaporates out of the North Atlantic leaving behind saltier waters, and the cold continental winds off the northern parts of North America cool the waters. Salty, cool waters settle to the bottom of the sea, most at a point a few hundred kilometers south of the southern tip of Greenland, producing a whirlpool of falling water that's 5 to 10 miles across. While...
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...stories because I find it more interesting. Yes, I’m not good in writing essays but I love writing essays. ------------------------------------------------- THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA Ernest Hemingway “ There was an old man that goes by the name Santiago. Santiago had been labeled as a "Salao" or the worst form of being unlucky. Because he had gone eighty-four days without catching a fish and that his companion, Manolin, was forbidden by his parents to sail with the old man and had been tasked to go with other blossoming fisherman but the boy disobeys his parents and visits the old man each night. Santiago tells Manolin that he will set far out into the Gulf Stream, north of Cuba and Straits of Florida to fish. Santiago was convinced that his fate will change. On the eighty fifth day, he sat out alone to Gulf Stream. By noon, a Marlin takes his bait. The marlin was too colossal for him so he was unable to pull it up to his boat. Santiago waited while his body was throbbing and aching. Two days and two nights passed, still he was unable to pull it out. On the third day, Santiago releases the strength left in him to pull the Marlin out and stabs the giant with a harpoon and ends the battle. He heads home while daydreaming about the high price the fish is about to bring him. The blood trail of the Marlin attracted sharks. Santiago kills one shark with his harpoon but he lost his weapon in the process. He made a new one and slays five more sharks but they kept coming until...
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...What would happen if the Gulf Stream failed? Undoubtedly, the gulf stream is the biggest stream in the world which is calculated around 80-100 km wide and 800-1200 meters in depth and travels with a maximum speed of 2 meters per second. In the gulf stream region, heating of the lower part of the atmosphere is very strong. The gulf stream transports the warm water waves near the surface which encourage water to evaporate and make the water salty. This is the reason that winds carry warmth and plentiful rainfalls to Europe. There is a water cycle that works like a giant conveyor belt because It brings warm water to north and cold water to south. But if the gulf stream stopped working suddenly, it will create lots of issues related to climate in Europe and the rest of the world. Research and studies suggest that there are possibilities that climate of earth has begun to change and glaciers has already started to melt and forcing the fresh waters into gulf stream that can collapse the gulf stream. There are more possibilities that it can decrease the normal rainfall by 30 % and it can create the situation of severe drought. An increase in wind would cause the temperature to drop about six degrees. It will create the stage of chill and snow would remain on the ground. So if Gulf Stream got failed or suddenly stopped flowing due to any reasons, it will create the sudden cold and it will make the planet cool and if it remains persistent, it can turn the world into an Ice age too...
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...There has been some evidence of irregularity in the flow and heat transport throughout its history. A study done by Lund et al. (2006) using foraminifera from sediment cores found that the density gradient was lower and therefore the flow of the Gulf Stream was slower during the Little Ice Age. It is estimated that the volume of the Gulf Stream was about 10% less than it is today. The paleoclimatic records indicate that reduced heat transport during the Little Ice Age may have led to cooler northern temperatures (Lund et al.,...
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...The Long- Term Effects of oil on ecosystems: A comparison of the Exxon Valdez and the BP oil spill The Exxon Valdez was a single hull, 987-foot super tanker built by the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, out of San Diego, California. The Exxon Corporation commissioned this ship into service on December 11, 1986. After the March of 1989 collision with Bligh Reef, the vessel was towed to the shipyard in San Diego and repaired in June of 1989, more than 1,600 tons of steel needed replacing, and the cost of this repair was over $30 million dollars. The Valdez is back in use owned and operated by the Hong Kong Bloom Shipping LTD., renamed the Dong Fang Ocean, and registered out of Panama. At 12:04 A.M. on March 24, 1989, the Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef, Captain Joseph Hazelwood was below decks and intoxicated, the vessel was under the control of the third mate, Gregory Cousins. It was later found that in addition to the intoxicated captain, the third mate, Gregory Cousins, did not have the proper endorsement on his coast guard license to operate a ship in the pristine waters of Prince William Sound, and on top of this Exxon failed to repair the damaged radar that could have prevented the accidental grounding of the ship. At the time of impact, the Valdez was carrying 55 million gallons of crude oil and 11 million gallons of crude was spilt into one of the most delicate, and bountiful marine ecosystems on earth, Prince William Sound. This number of 11 million...
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...People against the Earth: Cycle of melting of ice caps in the environment It is very shocking to see how many people do not have the knowledge or the interest to educate themselves about one of the biggest issues of the Earth. There are many articles about the climate change in general, but this essay will answer a question what are the effects of melting ice caps on climate change? Firstly what is global warming and what is climate change? Global warming is just the Earth’s rising surface temperature and climate change is a bigger category and global warming is one part of its category. In another words global warming is one issue of a much larger problem of human caused climate change. Both of them are a commonly talked about issue among scientists since it causes many changes in the environment including the melting of ices which has an effect on all parts of the world. Because of the sea level rising there are, even if it is not a rapid increase, many devastating effects on land habitants, and also there is a threat of the next ice age. Firstly the melting of polar ice caps can affect countries, as continents. A lot of parts of the “now known” continents would totally disappear under the ocean; which would mean that people that live there now, would lose their homes and the number of people per square foot would rise rapidly. The sunk parts of the countries would affects also the fauna and flora. It is clear that many species are dying out now and also...
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...Analyzing the Effects of the Mississippi River on The Dead Zones in the Gulf of Mexico Dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico have reached about 8000 square miles. Dead zones are oxygen depleted areas in the ocean in which the levels of oxygen in the water are so low that it cannot sustain sea life. These dead zones are created by water runoff from the mighty Mississippi River. Nutrients in the water that run out into the gulf cause an abundance of algae growth. The alga then dies and as it sinks to the bottom of the ocean is decomposed by bacteria reducing the oxygen levels in the water. This coupled with the fact that the fresh water acts as a barrier between the salt water and the atmosphere preventing it from being oxygenated, is the primary cause of these massive dead zones. These dead zones, primarily the one in the gulf have increased in size drastically in the past decades and researchers are desperately trying to find a way to reduce their size. For the most part, nutrient levels in the river are naturally occurring, but there are some human factors in the rising levels causing increasing growth in the size of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone. Dead zones are nothing new. They have in fact been occurring for some time in history. Natural nutrients that come from rain water runoff from the mountains and streams along the Mississippi River have always run off into the gulf causing this natural phenomenon, especially in years with high rainfall. Throughout the years though...
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...promising efforts to stop the Gulf oil leak through a 'top kill' effort, a mind boggling amount of damage has already been done to this precious ocean ecosystem. It can be hard to keep track of all the devastating statistics, quotes, and facts concerning this disaster, but it is essential that the public maintain a working knowledge of what's going on, both politically and environmentally. As a people, we must demand change from both an oil industry that drills first and asks questions later, and the corrupt government agencies that let them get away with it. We must also realize that we have encouraged this sort of behavior through lifestyles that are addicted to oil, and an unwillingness to make sacrifices for a cleaner, healthier future. Here are 10 of the most horrifying facts about the Gulf oil spill. Read them and let their gravity weigh heavy on your hearts and minds. Let them motivate you to take action so our planet never experiences this kind of manmade disaster ever again. 1. New estimates show the undersea well has spilled betweendwarf those of BP, who claimed the spill had only released 11 million gallons to date, and mean that the Gulf leak is far bigger than Exxon Valdez, making it the worst spill in American history. 2. The National Wildlife Federation reports that already more than 150 threatened or endangered sea turtles are dead. And 316 sea birds, mostly brown pelicans and northern gannets, have been found dead along the Gulf Coast as a result of the...
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...Question #4: Online Lesson #14 These energy sources appear to be possible and positive renewable energy sources that need to be further developed. What are these three possible energy sources and what problems might be foreseen with their use? The coming decline of fossil fuel supplies and the increasing concern over air pollution and global climate change have convinced many people that we will need to shift to renewable energy sources that will not run out and will pollute far less. Ocean energy sources is that renewable energy source. It can sustain our civilization far into the future without greatly degrading our environment. And ocean energy can be harnessed by many different methods: There is a process called OTEC, based off the fact that each day the tropical oceans absorb an amount of solar radiation equivalent to the heat content of 250 billion barrels of oil. The ocean’s sun-warmed surface is higher in temperature than its deep water, and ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) is based on this gradient in temperature. There are two ways in getting the warm surface water: In the closed cycle approach, warm surface water is piped into a facility to evaporate chemicals. These evaporated gases spin turbines to generate electricity. In the open cycle approach, warm surface water is evaporated in a vacuum, and its steam turns turbines and then is condensed by cold water. We can also harness energy from tides, waves and currents. Erecting dams accomplish tidal...
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...Shatt al-Arab Shatt al-Arab Shatt al-Arab near Basra, Iraq. Origin Tigris–Euphrates confluence at Al-Qurnah Mouth Persian Gulf Basin countries Iraq, Iran Length 200 km (120 mi) Source elevation 4 m (13 ft) Mouth elevation 0 m (0 ft) Avg. discharge 1,750 m3/s (62,000 cu ft/s) at mouth Shatt al-Arab (Arabic: شط العرب, "Stream of the Arabs"; Persian: اَروَندرود, Arvand Rud, "Swift River"), is a river in Southwest Asia of some 200 km (120 mi) in length, formed by the confluence of the Euphrates and the Tigris in the town of al-Qurnah in the Basra Governorate of southern Iraq. The southern end of the river constitutes the border between Iraq and Iran down to the mouth of the river as it discharges into the Persian Gulf. It varies in width from about 232 metres (761 ft) at Basra to 800 metres (2,600 ft) at its mouth. It is thought that the waterway formed relatively recently in geologic time, with the Tigris and Euphrates originally emptying into the Persian Gulf via a channel further to the west. The Karun river, a tributary which joins the waterway from the Iranian side, deposits large amounts of silt into the river; this necessitates continuous dredging to keep it navigable.[1] The area is judged to hold the largest date palm forest in the world. In the mid-1970s, the region included 17 to 18 million date palms, an estimated one-fifth of the world's 90 million palm trees. But by 2002, war, salt, and pests had wiped out more than 14 million of the palms, including...
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...However, it’s frozen. a) Glaciers c) Atmosphere b) Subterranean waters d) Seas and oceans 4. This is one of the chemical properties of water a) Colorless c) Neutral pH b) Tasteless d) Lacks smell 5. What are the 3 physical states in which water can be found? (Multiple answers) a) Solid c) Liquid b) Gas d) Plasma 6. The kind of sea that is mostly surrounded by continental land, such as the Black Sea and the Mediterranean. a) Gulfs b) Interior sea c) Exterior sea d) Lakes 7. These are large intrusions of sea into continental lands a) Gulfs b) Interior sea c) Exterior sea d) Lakes 8. These kind of movements of seawater are undulations on its surface that area caused by the wind and there are two kinds: oscillation and translation a) Tides c) Oceanic streams b) Tsunamis d) Waves 10. These are periodical movements of seawater in which the ascends (high) or descends (low) and that are caused by conjoined action of gravitational pulls of the Sun, Moon and Earth. a) Tides c) Oceanic streams b) Tsunamis d) Waves 11. These are large horizontal fluxes of seawater that move...
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...called Pangea. At that time all of the world’s continents were together, and over time the plates slowly shifted away from each other and eventually forming the different continents of what we know today. The only set back of the Precambrian time is that the rocks that were formed then now are buried deep within the soil and ground. It is very for geologist to study these rocks. The earth’s crust beneath the Mississippi Valley has a thickness of about 42 km. A later chapter that was very interesting was the chapter that discussed how Pangea ripped apart. When Pangea was tearing apart over time, it formed to what is to be called the Gulf of Mexico. There the water of the Mississippi River flows from as far as southern Canada, all the way into the Gulf of Mexico. Many types of sediment rocks poured into the Gulf of Mexico from many important streams that stretched all over Texas during the Paleocene period, through...
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...water pollution as the number concern in conservational issues. Why are so many Missourians concerned about water pollution? 2.5 million Missouri residents rely on streams for drinking water. Water treatment and cleansing is not a cheap process, it is expensive and comes out of the pockets of Missouri citizens. When more money is spent on water treatment and cleansing it is safe to drink the higher the water bills go up, causing the residents of Missouri to pay more. Not only is the issue the cost but the health risks as well. In 2008 more than 12 citizens in Cameron Missouri was diagnosed with brain tumors, within seven months. The only thing that links these people together is the drinking water. Cameron is a small town, and this is just one example. Missourians pay the price whether it is their health or extra expenses because of water treatment. The pie-graph below (Image 1), for example shows how much of the population near the Missouri River rely on the river for drinking water. Image 1. (Missouri Department of Natural Resources, 2007) Why is water pollution a big issue in Missouri? Congress decided to change the number of waterways protected in Missouri in 2001. The president of Missouri Conservation Federation, Glenn Chambers stated “Just less than 70 percent of Missouri streams are at risk of losing Clean Water Act protection. And about 700 thousand acres, just under 700 thousand acres of wetlands, may already have lost protection," (Mcgowin, 2009)...
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