What is Western intensification caused by?
In other words, the currents off of the east coast of the continents are more intense than currents off of the west coast of the continents. This phenomenon is known as western intensification , and once again it is due to the Coriolis Effect. The greater the change in rotation speed, the stronger the Coriolis force.
What is westward intensification?
western intensification The tendency of currents along the western margins of all oceans to be particularly strong, swift, and narrow, flowing northwards in the northern hemisphere and southwards in the southern hemisphere. Currents at the eastern margins of all oceans tend to be slower and more diffuse. See GYRE.
How do western boundary currents impact climate?
It influences the climate of the east coast of Florida, keeping temperatures warmer in the winter and cooler than the other southeastern states in the summer. Since it also extends toward Europe, it warms western European countries as well.
What is Western intensification and what effect does it have on the Hill?
Western intensification causes: a steeper slope of surface water in the western section of the gyre as compared to the eastern section of the gyre. very swift western boundary currents. the center of the gyre to be shift to the west.
Why there is westward intensification of surface currents in oceans basins?
In fact, they are among the fastest surface currents in the ocean. One reason for the westward intensification of boundary currents has to do with the strengthening of the Coriolis effect with latitude. A steeper ocean-surface slope translates into a faster geostrophic flow on that side of the gyre.
What boundary currents are affected by Western intensification?
Sub-tropical western boundary currents are warm, deep, narrow, and fast-flowing currents that form on the west side of ocean basins due to western intensification. They carry warm water from the tropics poleward. Examples include the Gulf Stream, the Agulhas Current, and the Kuroshio Current.
What causes Western intensification of surface ocean currents in the subtropical gyres?
The centres of subtropical gyres are shifted to the west. This westward intensification of ocean currents was explained by the American meteorologist and oceanographer Henry M. Stommel (1948) as resulting from the fact that the horizontal Coriolis force increases with latitude.
What is meant by westward intensification Why are western boundary currents so fast and deep?
How does surface currents affect climate?
Ocean currents act much like a conveyor belt, transporting warm water and precipitation from the equator toward the poles and cold water from the poles back to the tropics. Thus, ocean currents regulate global climate, helping to counteract the uneven distribution of solar radiation reaching Earth’s surface.