STUDY: Lesson Vocabulary

Crest: highest point of a wave

Estuaries: places where large rivers empty into the ocean

Fetch: distance the wind travels over the ocean surface

Gyres: circular pattern of ocean surface currents

Ions: charged atoms

Neap Tide: when the difference between high tide and low tide is the least. The lowest level of high tide.

Period: the amount of time that passes between one wave to the next

Polar Easterlies: winds that are closest to the poles and blow from east to west, pushing surface currents westward

Prevailing Westerlies: winds found at mid-latitudes and move from west to east, creating surface currents that also move in that direction

Salinity: a measure of the concentration of dissolved salts in a body of water. It is measured as a concentration of grams of salt per kilogram of seawater

Sonar: stands for sound navigation and ranging, works by emitting pulses of sound waves from a ship, which bounce off any objects they hit and return to their source. Allows scientists to map the sea floor

Spring Tide: when the difference between high tide and low tide is the greatest. An unusually high tide. Occurs during full and new moons.

Thermocline: boundary between surface water and deep water in the ocean; layer in the ocean where temperature changes very rapidly with depth.

Thermohaline Circulation: network of surface and deep ocean currents that constantly circulates ocean water from one side of the globe to another. Caused by salinity and temperature differences

Trade Winds: winds closest to the equator, blow from east to west; they drive the ocean surface currents from the east to west as well

Trough: lowest point of a wave

Turbidity Currents: fast moving currents of water, mud and sediment

Wave: a disturbance that travels through space and transports energy

Wave Height: distance between the wave's trough and crest

Wavelength: the distance between two consecutive wave crests