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# Currents Roadmap to Resources

## Currents Tutorial

NOAA and many other organizations have numerous online resources on ocean currents. The following Web pages are meant to guide educators and students to specific data and information related to content presented in the currents tutorial. Some of the Web pages listed below reside within larger Web sites. You may wish to browse these sites to examine the other online resources they have available.

Please note: The Web links provided have been checked at the time of this page's publication, but the linking sites may become outdated or non-operational over time. If you should come across a non operational link please contact NOAA Ocean Service Education at https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/

**NOAA Tutorial on Tides and Water Levels**https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_tides/welcome.html

This online tutorial presents an overview of the complex systems that  govern the movement of tides and water levels, including what tides are  and what causes them, the types and causes of tidal cycles, how tides  vary with geography, and how tides are monitored. The tutorial includes  illustrations and graphics to enhance the text.

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**NOAA's Tides and Currents Web Site**https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov

The NOAA Tides and Currents Web site is the home page of NOAA's Center  for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS). This Web  site is the portal to NOAA's collection of historical and real-time  oceanographic and meteorological data, predictions, and forecasts  including data and information about tides, water levels, currents, and  weather observations.

Select the term “products” on the top navigation bar of the Web page and you will arrive at a page (https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/products)  which provides terms and definitions of, and links to, the wide range  of online information available through the CO-OPS Web site. The  real-time and archived data are available in tabular or graphic formats.

**Glossary of Tide and Current Terminology**https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/publications/glossary2.pdf (28 pages, pdf, 600Kb)

This  indispensable reference tool lists and defines more than 400 terms and  concepts concerned with the tidal phenomena and its measurement.

**The Physical Oceanographic Real Time System (PORTS**®**) Web Site**https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/ports.html

This  Web site provides access to real-time oceanographic and meteorological  data for 13 major U.S. harbors. After selecting a particular harbor  area, you can view the types of sensors and their locations with the  integrated Google Maps® application. To view specific data for a  particular sensor in graphic and text formats, roll your mouse over it  and “click.”

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**The Bridge**http://masweb.vims.edu/bridge/index.cfm

The  Bridge is a growing collection of online marine education resources. It  provides educators with content-correct and content-current marine  information and data; supports researchers in outreach efforts; and  improves communication among educators and between the education and  research communities. Resources are organized in the Web site  navigation menu on the left side of the screen. To access resources  related to currents, go to the navigation menu on the left side of the  screen and click on *Ocean Science Topics*, then click on*Physics*, then click on the heading *Currents* at the top of the page.

**The Bridge Data Tips/Classroom Activities**      Data Tips are classroom activities focused on a particular subject.  Each Data Tip provides a description of the subject with links to  images, animations, and other Web sites. Each Data Tip has a classroom  activity using online data to guide students to a greater understanding  of the subject presented. 

To  access the Data Tips related to subjects discussed in the currents  tutorial, go to the navigation menu on the left side of the screen and  click on *Lesson Plans*, then *Data Activities*. Scroll down the main page and click on the topic *Physics*. In the Physics Data Tip Archives, you will find the following activities:

**September 2006 - Sea State**        Being able to accurately forecast the conditions at sea, or sea state,  has been the goal of explorers, sailors, and fishermen for thousands of  years. Now, through the use of ocean observing systems, we can not only  predict, but pinpoint, exactly what the sea state will be like before  leaving the dock.

**November 2005 - Cold One Day, Warm Another?**      Ever wondered why water temperatures at the beach can be so different  from day to day? Learn how upwelling influences beach water  temperatures in this Data Tip, a collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps  of Engineers Field Research Facility.

**March 1999 - The Far-Reaching Effects of Oil Spills**      Drifter data, which yield information on ocean currents, are useful to  scientists for many purposes. One important application of the data is  using them to help predict the paths of oil spills. Use drifter data to  predict where the oil from the New Carissa spill off the coast of  Oregon may go. Investigate what may happen to the oil if a spill were  to happen near where you live.

**October 2005 - Waves: An Alternative Energy Source**      Our lives have become so dependent on non-renewable energy sources that  it is hard to imagine life without them. But what about renewable or  sustainable energy sources? Explore the possibility of waves as an  alternative energy source and use data from U.S. ocean observing system  buoys to determine the feasibility of harnessing this energy source.

**January 2005  -Tsunami**      On Saturday, December 25, 2004, an underwater earthquake caused  tsunamis to crash into coasts around the Indian Ocean basin, claiming  over 100,000 lives. What are the underlying physical and geological  forces that create these devastating natural phenomena?

**August 2000 - Tides**        Tides dictate the lives of the marine organisms which live within their  reach, as well as the plans of those who live, work, and play near the  coast. This month, we examine the factors that influence the tides and  use NOAA tide data to make tidal predictions.

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**Ocean Motion and Surface Currents**http://oceanmotion.org/

This  visually and content-rich multimedia Web site is an excellent resource  for teachers looking to enhance their subject content knowledge of  ocean currents. The site includes comprehensive essays on ocean  currents, the forces that influence them, the impacts currents have on  the Earth's climate and biological diversity, methods used to measure  ocean currents, and profiles of researchers that work in fields  involving ocean currents. The Web site also includes a series of  professional development modules for teachers and lesson plans for  students on a range of oceanographic subjects including Navigation,  Coriolis, and Ocean Gyres. To access the modules and lesson plans, you  must provide a password which is distributed upon request.

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**Ocean World**http://oceanworld.tamu.eduSelect the *Current*s  icon on the home page of this Web site to learn more about ocean  currents, the forces that effect them and ways that currents are  measured and to find links to real-time data. There is also an  interactive quiz. These materials will be most helpful for teachers  looking for professional development by increasing their science  content knowledge, advanced high school students, or undergraduates.  The Ocean World Web site provides an excellent opportunity to explore  specific topics in and related to oceanography, find rea-time data, and  delve deeper into oceanography.

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**Ocean Surface Currents**http://oceancurrents.rsmas.miami.edu/index.htmlThis Web site promises to provide a detailed presentation of all of the  major surface currents in the world. Although still under construction,  the site presents exhaustive information and data on over 32 individual  surface ocean currents in the Atlantic Ocean. The developers intend to  present information on surface currents from the Indian and Pacific  Oceans, and the Earth’s Polar regions. To explore the surface currents  of the Atlantic, move your mouse over the image of the Atlantic Ocean  and click on it. To explore a specific current, roll your mouse over  the name of the current and click on it.

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**Sea Surface Current Radar Tutorial**http://www.thecoolroom.org/boaters/boat_help_codar.htmThis is a brief and well-written online tutorial of sea surface current  radar and how it is being used to map ocean surface currents along the  shore of New Jersey.

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**Dive and Discover – Deep Ocean Circulation**http://divediscover.whoi.edu/circulation/infomod.html

This  section of the Dive and Discover Web site focuses on the causes of deep  ocean circulation. It includes a video on how differences in  temperature and salinity cause different water masses to form layers,  as well as animations of water circulation in the North Atlantic and  the Global Conveyer belt.

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**Online Article – Greenhouse Gas Buildup May Cause Collapse of the Global Conveyer Belt**http://www.columbia.edu/cu/record/23/11/13.html

Though  almost a decade old, this brief article which appeared in the Columbia  University Newspaper discussed an important warning being issued from  several of the world's leading climate experts. The article states the  buildup of greenhouse gases may cause an abrupt collapse of the oceans'  prevailing circulation system (aka the global conveyer belt) that could  send temperatures across Europe plummeting in a span of 10 years. 

### Currents Lessons

              - Welcome
              - Tidal Currents 1
              - Tidal Currents 2
              Coastal Currents
              - Waves
              - Longshore Currents
              - Rip Currents
              - Upwelling
              Surface Ocean Currents
              - The Coriolis Effect
              - Surface Ocean Currents
              - Boundary Currents
              - The Ekman Spiral
              The Global Conveyor Belt
              - Thermohaline Circulation
              - The Global Conveyor Belt
              - Effects of Climate Change
              How Are Currents Measured?
              - Age of Exploration
              - What is a "knot"?
              - Shallow Water Drifter
              - Deep Ocean Drifter
              - Current Profiler
              - Shore-based Current Meters
              - How Currents Affect Our Lives?
              - References
              - Roadmap to Resources
              - Subject Review

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