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What are global convection currents?
Convection currents are part of what drives global circulation of the Earth’s atmosphere. Combustion generates convection currents. The exception is that combustion in a zero-gravity environment lacks buoyancy, so hot gases don’t naturally rise, allowing fresh oxygen to feed the flame.
What is the main cause of global convection currents?
What is the main cause of global convection currents? Q. Energy from the sun is transferred from the Earths surface to the atmosphere, resulting in atmospheric convection currents that produce winds.
What are convection currents 7th grade?
A convection current is a process that involves the movement of energy from one place to another. It is also called convection heat transfer.
What causes the global convection current between the equator and the poles?
Radiant heating from the Sun warms the surface of the Earth. … In addition the Earth’s rotation moves warm water from the equator toward the poles resulting in ocean currents that move heat from the equator to the poles and pushes cold water from the poles toward the equator.
What’s a convection current for kids?
The heated molecules take up more space and rise to the top, while the cooler molecules sink to the bottom. These cooler molecules then become heated. The process is repeated. This cycle is called the convection current.
What is convection kid friendly definition?
Kids Definition of convection : motion in a gas (as air) or a liquid in which the warmer portions rise and the colder portions sink Heat can be transferred by convection. convection. noun.
How do convection currents transfer heat into the atmosphere?
As the rock’s temperature rises due to conduction, heat energy is released into the atmosphere, forming a bubble of air which is warmer than the surrounding air. This bubble of air rises into the atmosphere. As it rises, the bubble cools with the heat contained in the bubble moving into the atmosphere.
What would happen if there were no convection currents?
If for some reason convection stopped, air would not circulate, and weather would stop. Air wouldn’t flow over the waters, suck up moisture and then rain it out on land. Without this rain, all plants and crops would die.
What is convection meaning for kids?
How does a convection current work?
Convection currents are the result of differential heating. Lighter (less dense), warm material rises while heavier (more dense) cool material sinks. It is this movement that creates circulation patterns known as convection currents in the atmosphere, in water, and in the mantle of Earth.
How does convection affect global warming?
Convection is a vital process which helps to redistribute energy away from hotter areas to cooler areas of the Earth, aiding temperature circulation and reducing sharp temperature differences.
How fast does the global conveyor belt move?
The Global Conveyor Belt. The conveyor belt moves at much slower speeds (a few centimeters per second) than wind-driven or tidal currents (tens to hundreds of centimeters per second). It is estimated that any given cubic meter of water takes about 1,000 years to complete the journey along the global conveyor belt.
How fast do ocean currents move in the North Atlantic?
They then loop back southward and westward to the South Atlantic, eventually returning to the North Atlantic, where the cycle begins again. The conveyor belt moves at much slower speeds (a few centimeters per second) than wind-driven or tidal currents (tens to hundreds of centimeters per second).
How does the current travel along the Antarctic Peninsula?
The current is “recharged” as it travels along the coast of Antarctica and picks up more cold, salty, dense water. The main current splits into two sections, one traveling northward into the Indian Ocean, while the other heads up into the western Pacific.
What are the two parts of the great ocean current?
The main current splits into two sections, one traveling northward into the Indian Ocean, while the other heads up into the western Pacific. The two branches of the current warm and rise as they travel northward, then loop back around southward and westward. The now-warmed surface waters continue circulating around the globe.