Unit IV: Ocean Circulation
ECE Marine Science
Rev. June 2016
12 Classes
Essential Questions
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Why does water circulate between ocean basins?
How does the ocean influence weather and climate?
Enduring Understandings with Unit Goals
EU #1: Ocean currents are masses of water that flow from one place to another
redistributing heat and nutrients.
o Distinguish between wind-driven (or surface) and density-driven (or deep) ocean
currents.
o Explain how currents moderate climate and can have global impacts.
EU #2: Ocean-atmosphere interactions influence climate and have dramatic
consequences.
o Explain how heat exchange between ocean-atmosphere can result in weather
phenomena, impacting patterns of rain and drought.
o Evaluate how wind patterns developed by heat exchange with the ocean drive
surface ocean currents and affect biological productivity.
Content
Chapter 6: Air-Sea Interface
 Atmosphere: Solar heating and convections cells
 Sea breezes versus land breezes
 Earth’s heat budget: Ocean’s role in minimizing atmospheric carbon dioxide
o Differential heating: tilt, angle of insolation, albedo
Chapter 7: Currents
 Wind and density driven currents
 Coriolis effect and western boundary currents
 Ekman spiral and transport
 Geostrophic current
 Upwelling and down welling
 El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
 Monsoon winds - Indian Ocean Circulation
 Thermohaline circulation: bottom water formation
 The Great Garbage Patch
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Unit IV: Ocean Circulation
ECE Marine Science
Rev. June 2016
12 Classes
Key terms: albedo, angle of insolation, bottom water, Coriolis effect, current, density driven,
downwelling, Ekman spiral, Ekman transport, ENSO, geostrophic, gyre, heat budget, monsoon
winds, thermohaline circulation, upwelling, western intensification, wind driven
21st Learning Expectations
Competency #1: Read and write effectively of a variety of purposes.
Competency #2. Speak effectively with a variety of audiences in an accountable manner.
Competency #3. Make decisions and solve problems independently and collaboratively.
Standards
Common Core State Standards/College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards:
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.11-12.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of
science and technical texts, attending to important distinctions the author makes and to
any gaps or inconsistencies in the account.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.11-12.2 Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text;
summarize complex concepts, processes, or information presented in a text by
paraphrasing them in simpler but still accurate terms.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.11-12.3 Follow precisely a complex multistep procedure when
carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks; analyze
the specific results based on explanations in the text.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.11-12.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and
other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or
technical context relevant to grades 11–12 texts and topics.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.11-12.9 Synthesize information from a range of sources (e.g.,
texts, experiments, simulations) into a coherent understanding of a process,
phenomenon, or concept, resolving conflicting information when possible.
 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.11-12.10 By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend
science/technical texts in the grades 11-CCR text complexity band independently and
proficiently.
Next Generation Science Standards:
 HS-ESS2-4. Use a model to describe how variations in the flow of energy into and out
of Earth’s systems result in changes in climate
 HS-ESS3-1. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how the availability of
natural resources, occurrence of natural hazards, and changes in climate have influenced
human activity.
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Unit IV: Ocean Circulation
ECE Marine Science
Rev. June 2016
12 Classes
Learning Objectives
Students will be able to:
 Explain the causes for the differential heating of the Earth and their role creating
global circulation patterns.
 Distinguish between wind-driven (or surface) and density-driven (or deep) ocean
currents.
 Create a model demonstrating how water density drives thermohaline circulation.
 Discuss the relationship between the Coriolis Effect and western boundary currents in
gyres.
 Describe the Ekman spiral and detail its implications for ocean water circulation.
 Diagram and explain a subtropical gyre including currents, water temperature, and
flow speed along with the effects on the economy and environment.
 Differentiate between upwelling and downwelling and relate these phenomena to
surface water productivity in these areas.
 Diagram the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the Pacific Ocean detailing the
effects of ENSO on global weather patterns.
 Evaluate arguments that ENSO is responsible for a particular event.
 Connect the formation monsoon winds and gyre circulation to heat capacity.
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Unit IV: Ocean Circulation
ECE Marine Science
12 Classes
Assured Learning Experiences
Differentiated Instruction/Instructional Strategies:
• Entrance Slips/Activities
• Graphic Organizer
• Individual Response Board
• Think- Pair-Share
• Student Reflection
• Lecture with note taking.
• Providing students with completed notes/outlines
• Guided Notes
• Laboratory Exercises
• Accountable Talk Discussion
Interdisciplinary Connections:
 Integrated Science 1 - Atmospheric circulation
 AP Human Geography - Natural disasters
 AP Environmental Science - El Nino
 Marine Studies 2 - Currents
Assessments
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS:
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Daily Warm-ups and Exit Slips
Initiation e.g. Gallery Walk or Brainstorm Questions
Vocabulary e.g. Card Sort or word web
Application e.g. Response Card or Flow chart
Review e.g. White Boarding or 2 Minute Paper
Close reading of literary text worksheet
Written Homework Assignments
Blame it on El Nino
o Rubric #3: Problem Solving
Labs Journal: Wind-driven, Thermohaline Circulation
SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS:
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Mini Labs: Wind-driven, Thermohaline Circulation
Blame it on El Nino Project
Unit Quiz – Currents
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Rev. June 2016
Unit IV: Ocean Circulation
ECE Marine Science
Rev. June 2016
12 Classes
Unit Task
Unit Task Name: Blame it on El Nino
Description: Students will use information learned in this unit about the ocean circulation (EU 1)
and the ocean-atmosphere connection to climate (EU 2) to evaluate a claim that El Nino - La Nina
(ENSO) caused a particular event. Students will work in small groups and read an assigned
scientific article. Each group will be assigned a different article. They will create a cause and
effect chart to explain how the authors made their conclusions. Then they will research sources
that confirm and refute the claims. Finally students will create a multimedia presentation for their
class to communicate their research and conclusions.
Evaluation: MSMHS Marine Problem Solving Rubric (Rubric #3)
Unit Resources
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Text: Trujillo, Alan and Harold Thurman. Essentials of Oceanography 10E. New Jersey:
Pearson, 2011.
MSMHS School-wide Rubrics
Internet databases
Laptops
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