Activity 4 - How Do Plate Tectonics and Ocean Currents Affect Global Climate?

Use the resources listed below to help you complete this activity.

To learn more about this topic, visit the following web sites:

How Ocean Currents Affect Regional Climates

Bowditch -The American Practical Navigator
Scroll to Page 6 (Section 3212) for information on ocean circulation's influence on regional climate. (NOTE: Adobe Reader is needed to view this document. Download the latest, FREE version.)

How Ocean Currents Affect Global Climate

The Southern Ocean and Global Climate, Australian Academy of Science
This web site provides information on the relationship between the Southern Ocean and the global climate.

Ocean Currents & Climate, USC
The climate of our planet is greatly effected by Earth's oceans. Visit this university's web page to learn more about the different oceanic currents and the role those currents play on climate change.

How Plate Tectonics Affects Global Climate

Hot Vents and Global Climate, by platetectonics.com
Learn more about how plate tectonics affect Climate Change.

Climate Change - Plate Tectonics, Lyndon State College
View notes about how plate tectonics affect climate change.

Inquiring Further:

To learn more about the flow of North Atlantic Deep Water, visit the following web sites:

Lamont's Broecker Warns Gases Could Alter Climate: Oceans' Circulation Could Collapse
This web site provides useful information on the importance of the NADW and its relationship to other systems.

Ocean Circulation Shut Down by Melting Glaciers After Last Ice Age, NASA
At this site, NASA provides basic information on the North Atlantic Ocean Circulation System as well as the affect of the last ice age on this system.

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Last updated: May 11, 2010

This project is supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation and the AGI Foundation. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Foundation.