The Sun’s Influence on Atmosphere and Oceans Note-taking Guide

Directions: Complete the note-taking guide using the words in the word bank below. To enter your answers, click on the blanks and type.

weather hurricanes poles convection currents warming salt
global conveyor belt surface currents dense equator
Loop Current salinity climate heat cooling wind

The Sun is the main energy source on Earth. Approximately
50%
of the
solar energy hitting Earth is absorbed by land and oceans.

This absorbed energy changes into

which can be transferred to

the atmosphere. As the air in the atmosphere then gets heated, it becomes

less

and rises.

Cool, dense air from other places flows in to replace this warm air, which we

feel as

.

This cool air eventually heats and starts to rise again. This continual process
of air closest to Earth’s surface warming, rising, cooling, and then sinking

creates

in the atmosphere.

Atmospheric winds that blow over the ocean surface create

that carry water around the globe.

Unequal heating of the oceans and differences in

also

create currents.

The Sun warms water at the

more than it does at the
high latitude Polar regions.

At the

, some water freezes. The water that doesn’t freeze

contains more

, making it denser.

As this cold, dense water sinks, the warm water from the equator moves
toward the poles to replace it.
This constant movement creates a deep ocean current called the

.

The global conveyor belt transfers heat from one part of the world to the

other, thus affecting the

and

in all parts

of the world.

Surface and deep ocean currents continually transfer warm and cold waters
around the globe.
As these waters warm or cool the air above it, winds blow the air over land,

it up or

it down.

The

in the Gulf of Mexico is an ocean current

that creates a warm layer of water in the gulf. This results in the growth of

several

that affect the Gulf Coast.