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The earth rotates on it axis. As it rotates, Gravity from the Sun and the moon hold the water a little stronger than they do the ground. This is called the tides. This tendency to hold the water back is strongest at the equator where the earth is rotating the fastest and it is weakest at the poles. Since the earth moves eastward, the water lags and flows toward the west close to the equator. Since land gets in the way, it flows north or south when it hits land. It flows back when it gets nearer the poles where the earth is moving slower and causing less of pull on the water than toward the equator.
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What forms features on the ocean?
What causes ocean floor features to form
Did glacier movement form the Great Lakes or the Atlantic Ocean?
The Great Lakers were ultimately formed by glaciers. The Atlantic Ocean was not. It was formed by continental rifting. Glaciers could not form a whole new ocean basin like that.
What causes white caps to form in the ocean?
White caps form in the ocean due to strong winds creating waves that break and create foam on the surface of the water.
How does the global conveyor belt form?
The ocean is not a still body of water. There is constant motion in the ocean in the form of a global ocean conveyor belt. This motion is due to thermohaline currents (thermo = temperature; haline = salinity). Cold, salty water is dense and sinks to the bottom of the ocean while warm water is less dense and rises to the surface. The ocean conveyor gets its "start" in the Norwegian Sea, where warm water from the Gulf Stream heats the atmosphere in the cold northern latitudes. This loss of heat to the atmosphere makes the water cooler and denser, causing it to sink to the bottom of the ocean. As more warm water is transported north, the cooler water sinks and moves south to make room for the incoming warm water. This cold bottom water flows south of the equator all the way down to Antarctica. Eventually, the cold bottom waters are able to warm and rise to the surface, continuing the conveyor belt that encircles the globe. It takes almost 1,000 years for the conveyor belt to complete one "cycle."
What causes an ocean trench form?
subduction of an oceanic plate under a continental plate.
What causes magma to form at a convergant plate?
the mid ocean ridges cause the magma to form at a convergent plate boundary.
What causes to form at a convergent plate boundary?
the mid ocean ridges cause the magma to form at a convergent plate boundary.
What causes magma to form at a convergent boundary?
the mid ocean ridges cause the magma to form at a convergent plate boundary.
What causes magma to form at convergent boundaries?
the mid ocean ridges cause the magma to form at a convergent plate boundary.
Is a moving conveyor belt a form of kinetic energy?
Yes, a moving conveyor belt is a form of kinetic energy because it involves the motion of objects being transported on the belt. Kinetic energy is the energy of motion, and the moving parts of the conveyor belt exhibit this type of energy.
What is the process that causes the transition from ocean to atmosphere?
The process that causes the transition from ocean to atmosphere is called evaporation. This is when water molecules at the ocean surface gain enough energy to break free from liquid form and enter the atmosphere as water vapor.
What causes Magma to form a convergent plate boundary?
the mid ocean ridges cause the magma to form at a convergent plate boundary.
