Ocean-Atmosphere Interactions
Virginia SOL OC.4
Investigate and understand interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere that influence weather, climate, and ocean systems.
What students need to be able to do
- Explain how water moderates regional climate and local weather conditions.
- Develop and use a model to explain why the Coriolis Effect occurs and how it influences global wind patterns and oceanic surface currents.
- Identify major surface currents, their characteristics (temperature, origin, and direction of motion) and explain how they affect local climates.
- Predict the formation and severity of low-pressure tropical systems over the ocean and describe potential hazards when they reach land.
- Develop and use a model to explain interrelationships among wind, ocean current, and climate patterns.
- Explain the atmospheric causes of Ekman transport and its effect on marine and climate systems.
- Make, support, and evaluate a claim about how climate variability and change influence ocean currents and stratification.
- Make, support, and evaluate a claim about how atmospheric changes affect ocean systems.