Ocean gyre

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/ocean-gyre

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 driving forces?Wind stress, Coriolis effect, planetary vorticity, and friction
2. What is the key feature?Accumulation zones for floating debris, notably plastic pollution, forming 'garbage patches'
3. How do ocean gyres move water?Winds push the surface water and the Coriolis effect turns it into a circle. The water then moves toward the center and sinks.
4. Why is the middle of a gyre often calm and nutrient-poor?In the center, currents push water together and it sinks, leaving the surface calm. This sinking removes nutrients, so the middle is usually nutrient-poor.

Coriolis effect: An apparent force caused by Earth's rotation that deflects moving objects, including ocean currents.
Ekman transport: The net movement of water in the upper ocean layer perpendicular to the wind direction, crucial for gyre formation.
Oligotrophic: Describing an aquatic environment that is poor in nutrients and therefore has low primary productivity.