Question

Q: Describe the three different classifications of ocean circulation: surface waves, deep ocean currents, and tides. Explain the impact that each one can have on the shoreline. Discuss what each of these types of circulations might look like off the coast of Georgia (think about Atlantic Ocean/Northern Hemisphere).

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Answer 1

Three types of ocean seawater movement are waves, deep currents and tides. The waves are a usually a response to the wind so that the stronger the wind the larger the waves and they usually are quite local in their effect. As well as waves there is the groundswell which is caused more by larger weather patterns than local wind usually. The waves are the process that shapes the shorelines the most since they break up on the beaches or rocky shorelines and breakdown the rock into sand grains to form beaches or sculpt the rocky shorelines to form stacks and other features common on the Oregon coast for example. Tides are due mainly to the diurnal gravitational pull of the moon on large bodies of water such as the oceans. There are usually two low and 2 high tides (level of water) each day depending on the alignment mainly of the earth and the moon. The tides can work together with the waves since if there is a high tide then the waves can attack the shoreline higher up whereas at low tide they may have less effect.Deep ocean currents like the Gulfstream which is partly off the coast of Georgia  in the Atlantic and coming from the Caribbean is a large scale movement of warm water up the east coast of the US which swings across towards Ireland at its' northern end and results in an relatively mild climate in those areas including Ireland. The effect of the tides and waves off Georgia would be similar to the above explanation.