Data

Copy and paste the text below. It is read-only. Select All

undertow a subsurface current that is near shore and that pulls objects out to sea whitecap the bubbles in the crest of a breaking wave swell one of a group of long ocean waves that have steadily traveled a great distance from their point of generation tsunami a giant ocean wave that forms after a volcanic eruption, submarine earthquake, or landslide storm surge a local rise in sea level near the shore that is caused by strong winds from a storm, such as those from a hurricane longshore current a water current that travels near and parallel to the shoreline ocean current a movement of ocean water that follows a regular pattern surface current a horizontal movement of ocean water that is caused by wind and that occurs at or near the ocean's surface Coriolis Effect the curving of the path of a moving object from an otherwise straight path due to Earth's rotation deep current a streamlike movement of ocean water far below the surface up welling the movement of deep, cold, and nutrient-rich water to the surface El Niño (oceanography) a warm ocean current that flows along the equator from the date line and south off the coast of Ecuador at Christmas time La Niña a cooling of the ocean surface off the western coast of South America, occurring periodically every 4 to 12 years and affecting Pacific and other weather patterns. tides the periodic rise and fall of the water level in the oceans and other large bodies of water tidal range the difference in levels of ocean water at high tide and low tide spring tide a tide of increased range that occurs two times a month, at the new and full moons neap tide a tide of minimum range that occurs during the first and third quarters of the moon