Test: Movements of Ocean Water - UPSC MCQ

The current of Indian Ocean is the west wind drift.Its a cold current,which bring cold water into warm water areas.

There are two main driving forces for ocean currents, surface wind and the (horizontal) gradients in temperature and salinity.

The most common tidal pattern, featuring two high tides and two low tides each day is called Semi-diurnal tide.

The current of Atlantic ocean is Gulf current.It is warm current which bring warm water into cold water areas.

A is the correct option.The term “knot”, in reference to currents, is defined as one nautical mile per hour and is used to measure speed.Surfers usually use knots for wave speeds (or sometimes miles per hour.) To convert to knots or nautical miles per hour simply multiply by 2. So a 10 second period wave will have a deep water speed of 30 knots.

Water particles only travel in a small circle as a wave passes. Wind causes waves to travel in the ocean and the energy is released on shorelines.

The Great Barrier Reef is a site of remarkable variety and beauty on the north-east coast of Australia. It contains the world’s largest collection of coral reefs, with 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of molluscs. It also holds great scientific interest as the habitat of species such as the dugong (‘sea cow’) and the large green turtle, which are threatened with extinction.

Salinity and density of water, direction and shape of the coast and gravitational force are the factors that decide the origin and movement of currents.