TOPIC INFO (UGC NET)
TOPIC INFO – UGC NET (Geography)
SUB-TOPIC INFO – Oceanography (UNIT 3)
CONTENT TYPE – Detailed Notes
What’s Inside the Chapter? (After Subscription)
1. Introduction
2. Types of Ocean Currents
2.1. Based on Depth
2.2. Based on Temperature
3. Forces Responsible For Ocean Currents
3.1. Primary Forces
3.2. Secondary Forces
4. Important Ocean Currents
5. Causes of Ocean Currents
5.1. Planetary Winds
5.2. Variation in Seawater Temperatures
5.3. Variation in Water Salinity.
5.4. Rotation of Earth
5.5. Configuration of the Coastline
6. Desert Formation and Ocean Currents
6.1. Atlantification
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Circulation: Warm and Cold Currents
UGC NET GEOGRAPHY
Oceanography (UNIT 3)
LANGUAGE
Table of Contents
Introduction
- Ocean currents are the continuous, predictable, directional movement of seawater. It is a massive movement of ocean water that is caused and influenced by various forces. They are like river flows in oceans.
- Ocean water moves in two directions: horizontally and vertically.
- Horizontal movements are referred to as currents, while vertical changes are called upwellings or downwellings.
- Ocean currents impact humankind and the biosphere due to their influence on climate.
Types of Ocean Currents
Based on Depth
- The ocean currents may be classified based on their depth as surface currents and deep water currents:
- surface currents constitute about 10 percent of all the water in the ocean, these waters are the upper 400 m of the ocean;
- deep water currents make up the other 90 percent of the ocean water. These waters move around the ocean basins due to variations in density and gravity.
- The density difference is a function of different temperatures and salinity
- These deep waters sink into the deep ocean basins at high latitudes where the temperatures are cold enough to cause the density to increase.