Global Ocean Conveyor Belt, A Cold Salty Deep

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Global Ocean Conveyor Belt,A Cold Salty Deep
This material is based on work supported by an
Environmental Literacy Grant from the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office
of Education (NA0909SEC4690009) and prior work
supported by the National Science Foundation
under Grants ANT-0342484 and ESI-0632175. Any
opinions, findings, and conclusions or
recommendations expressed in these materials are
those of the authors and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the NOAA or the NSF.

• ELF Activity Hydrosphere 3Ahttp//andrill.org/ed
  ucation/elf_activities_3A.html

As part of NOAA Environmental Literacy Grant
NA09SEC490009 to the University of
NebraskaLincoln's, ANDRILL Science Management
Office.
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There is only one ocean and the waters are not
still.
www.noaa.gov
In the above picture notice how the waters of all
the oceans are connected.
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Due to winds and surface currents, the waters
continually move and mix.
www.noaa.gov
This map shows the movement of surface water due
to the action of the winds.
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Cold, salty, dense water sinks under warmer
fresher water.
The sinking of cold water at the poles and its
replacement by warmer water from the equator
creates a current. This is called a
thermohaline circulation because it is based on
temperature and water density due to salt content.
thermo temperature haline
salt
Image national academy of sciences
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The Great Ocean Conveyor Belt
www.noaa.gov
Red warm surface water Blue
cold salty deep water
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Warm water carried north away from the Equator
provides Europe with mild winters.
Satellite image showing water temperatures along
the eastern U.S.
Images www.noaa.gov
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A Polar View of the Global Ocean Conveyor Belt
www.wikipedia.com
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In these two activities (Cold Salty Deep and
Global Ocean Conveyer Belt), students create
models of ocean currents to demonstrate the
thermohaline circulation of water throughout the
Earths system.
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• This material is based on work supported by an
  Environmental Literacy Grant from the National
  Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Office
  of Education (NA09SEC4690009) and prior work
  supported by the National Science Foundation
  under Grants ANT-0342484 and ESI-0632175. Any
  opinions, findings, and conclusions or
  recommendations expressed in these materials are
  those of the authors and do not necessarily
  reflect the views of the National Oceanic and
  Atmospheric Administration or the National
  Science Foundation.
• http//andrill.org/education/elf/activities