Gulf Stream

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/gulf-stream

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the ocean current classification?Warm, swift, western boundary current within the North Atlantic
2. What is the primary heat transport?Carries significant thermal energy from the tropics to higher latitudes
3. How fast does the Gulf Stream flow?It can move up to about 5 miles per hour and is more than 100 miles wide, making it a powerful river of water.
4. Why does the Gulf Stream make Europe warmer?It carries heat from the tropics to Europe, keeping places like London warmer than cities at the same latitude.

Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC): A large-scale ocean current system that transports warm water north and cold water south in the Atlantic.
Thermohaline Circulation: Ocean currents driven by differences in water density, which is affected by temperature and salinity.
Coriolis Effect: The apparent deflection of moving objects (like ocean currents) due to Earth's rotation.
Western Boundary Current: Fast-moving, deep, and narrow ocean currents found along the western edges of ocean basins.