“Ocean Circulations”

by Caleb, KE0FOE

As we continue with our series covering JetStream, The National Weather Service’s new Online School for Weather, the topic this time is: Ocean Circulations.

There is a global circulation of water across all of our oceans called the Great Ocean Conveyor. This worldwide conveyor is driven by differences in temperature and salt content or salinity.
As the Gulf Stream flows northward off of the U.S. East Coast, surface water temperatures begin to cool and eventually reach the freezing point in far northern latitudes. As this water freezes, salt is extracted and remains in the unfrozen water causing the salt content of this water to rise. This cold and extra salty water then sinks off the northwestern coast of Europe.
As this sunken water continues along this conveyor, it rounds the southern tip of Africa and eventually makes its way into the western Pacific Ocean and moves northward towards Alaska where it finally resurfaces.
Did you know that it can take as much as 1,000 to 1,200 years for a parcel of water to make this entire journey around the world before resurfacing?

There are a lot of amazing facts and projects about earth’s atmosphere that you and your family can discover on the National Weather Service’s new Online School for Weather called JetStream. Visit their website: weather.gov/jetstream