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OceanCurrents:Modelingthe'GlobalConveyorBelt'inYourKitchen

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OceanCurrents:Modelingthe'GlobalConveyorBelt'inYour
Kitchen
Difficulty
TimeRequired

Short(25days)

Prerequisites

None

MaterialAvailability

Readilyavailable

Cost

VeryLow(under$20)

Safety

Adultsupervisionisrequired.Usecautionwhenworkingwiththelighterormatches.

Abstract
Oceancurrentshaveprofoundeffectsontheclimatesofthecontinents,especiallythoseregionsborderingonthe
ocean.Forexample,theGulfStream(awarmcurrentthatgoesaroundtheNorthAtlanticOcean)isthoughttomake
northwestEuropemuchwarmerthanitwouldotherwisebe.Similarly,theCaliforniaCurrentisthoughttokeepHawaii
coolerthanotherlandmassesatthesamelatitudeasit.Inthisoceansciencefairproject,youwillmodelthebehavior
ofthese"rivers"ofhotandcoldwaterwithintheoceantofindouthowtemperatureaffectsthespeedanddirectionofthe
currents.

Objective
Tomakeamodelofoceancurrentsandmeasurehowtheheatinputaffectsvelocityofthecurrents.

Credits
DavidWhyte,PhD,ScienceBuddies
Braile,L.W.(2000).ThermalConvectionandViscosityofaFluid.RetrievedOctober15,2008,from
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~braile/edumod/convect/convect.htm(http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~braile/edumod/conv ect/conv ect.htm)
SternoisaregisteredtrademarkofTheSternoGroupLLC.
PyrexisaregisteredtrademarkofCorningIncorporated.

CiteThisPage
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MLAStyle
ScienceBuddiesStaff."OceanCurrents:Modelingthe'GlobalConveyorBelt'inYourKitchen"ScienceBuddies.
ScienceBuddies,6Feb.2015.Web.20Apr.2016<http://www.sciencebuddies.org/sciencefair
projects/project_ideas/OceanSci_p012.shtml>

APAStyle
ScienceBuddiesStaff.(2015,February6).OceanCurrents:Modelingthe'GlobalConveyorBelt'inYourKitchen.
RetrievedApril20,2016fromhttp://www.sciencebuddies.org/sciencefairprojects/project_ideas/OceanSci_p012.shtml

Lasteditdate:20150206

Introduction
Oceancurrentsprofoundlyaffecttheweather,marinetransportation,andthecyclingofnutrients.Deepoceancurrents
aredrivenbydifferencesinthewater'sdensity.Thewater'sdensityiscontrolledbytemperature(coldwaterisdenser
thanwarmwater)andsalinity(saltywaterisdenserthanfreshwater).
Howdoesthevaryingdensityoftheoceanswaterscreatetheglobalcurrents?Tounderstandthedeepoceancurrents,
itiseasiesttolookfirstatEarth'spolarregions.Waterflowingintothepolarregionsbecomescold,whichincreasesits
density.Asiceisformedwhenthewaterfreezes,freshwaterisremovedfromtheocean(ithasturnedintoice),making
theoceanwatersaltier.Thecoldwaterisnowdenser,duetotheaddedsalts,thusitsinkstowardtheoceanbottom.
Surfacewaterthenmovesintoreplacethesinkingwater,thuscreatingacurrent.Thismovementwithinafluidcreated
byhotter(andthereforelessdense)materialsrising,andcolder(andthereforedenser)materialssinking,iscalled
convection.
Aglobal"conveyorbelt"issetinmotionwhendeepwaterformsintheNorthAtlantic,sinks,movessouth,circulates
aroundAntarctica,andthenmovesnorthwardtotheIndian,Pacific,andAtlanticbasins.Asimplifiedversionofthe
globalconveyorbeltisshowninFigure1,below.Theglobalconveyorbeltmoveswaterslowly,10centimeters(cm)per
second(sec)atmost,soitcantake1,000yearsforwaterfromtheNorthAtlantictofinditswayintotheNorthPacific!
Buttheglobalconveyorbeltmovesalotofwateraround100timestheamountofwaterthatisintheAmazonRiveris
transportedbythishuge,slowcirculationpattern.

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Figure1.Thisisasimplifiedversionoftheglobalconveyorbelt.(Imagecredits:USGlobalChangeResearchProgram,
ThomasSplettstoesser)
Thewatermovesmainlybecauseofdifferencesinrelativedensity,whichyouwillexploreinthissciencefairproject.In
thisscienceproject,youwillmodeloceancurrents,withparticularfocusontheroleofheatinthecurrents'directionand
velocity.

TermsandConcepts
Deepoceancurrents
Density
Salinity
Convection
Globalconveyorbelt
Velocity
Convectioncells

Questions
Whattypesofcurrentsarepresentintheocean?
Howdooceancurrentsaffecttheweather?
Whatistheroleofoceancurrentsindistributingnutrients?
Fromwheredoestheenergythatdrivesoceancurrentscome?

Bibliography
NationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration.(2008).TheGlobalConveyorBelt.RetrievedOctober15,
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/sciencefairprojects/project_ideas/OceanSci_p012.shtml#background

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2008,fromhttp://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/kits/currents/06conveyor2.html
(http://oceanserv ice.noaa.gov /education/kits/currents/06conv ey or2.html)

Horton,J.(2008).HowOceanCurrentsWork .RetrievedOctober15,2008,from
http://science.howstuffworks.com/oceancurrent.htm/printable(http://science.howstuf f works.com/oceancurrent.htm/printable)
Braile,L.W.(2000).ThermalConvectionandViscosityofaFluid.RetrievedOctober15,2008,from
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~braile/edumod/convect/convect.htm(http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~braile/edumod/conv ect/conv ect.htm)

MaterialsandEquipment
Pyrexbakingdish,2qt.or1.5qt.insize.SeetheProcedure(#procedure)foranexample.
Alternatively,othersimilarlysized,heatresistantglassbakingwarethatcansafelywithstandthehot
temperaturesofbeingplacedjustaboveaflameforseveralminutescouldbeusedinstead.
Thyme,dried(2tsp.)
Alternatively,anyotherdriedleafspicecouldbeused.
Teaspoon
Vegetableoil(about4cups)
Measuringcup
Spoon
Ceramiccoffeemugs(2).Theseshouldbeequalinheight.
SmallcandlesorcansofSterno(4).Theseshouldbemuchshorterthanthecoffeemugssothattheflame
doesnotgettooclosetothebottomoftheglassbakingdish.
Lighterormatches
Paperforsketching
Thermometer,liketheoneavailablefromCarolinaBiological(http://www.carolina.com/labthermometers/redspiritf illedpartial
immersion12inthermometer20to110c/745390.pr?s_cid=ptnr_scibuddies)catalog#745390.

Ruler
Stopwatch
Funnel
Adulthelper
Labnotebook
Graphpaper
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JamecoElectronics (http://www.av antlink.com/click.php?tt=cl&mi=10609&pw=182414&ctc=OceanSci_p012&url=http%3a%2f %2f www.jameco.com),and

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ExperimentalProcedure
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1.Onasurfacethatissafetospillsomevegetableoil,fillthebakingdishabouthalftothreequartersfullwith
vegetableoil.(Dependingontheexactsizeofbakingdishyouareusing,thismaybeabout4cupsofvegetable
oilorless.)
2.Mixthe2teaspoonsofthymeinwiththevegetableoilinthebakingdish.Stirthoroughlytodistributetheflakes
ofthyme.Theflakesofthymewillflowwiththeliquid,showingthedirectionandvelocityofanyfluidflow.
3.Placethebakingdishontopofthetwoceramicmugs.
4.Observetheoilandspicemixture.Withnoheat(energy)beingaddedtothesystem,thereshouldbelittleorno
movementoftheliquid,onceithassettled.
5.Placeacandleunderneaththebakingdish,directlyinthemiddle.Makesurethemugsstillstablysupportthe
bakingdish.
6.Lightthecandleandlettheliquidheatupforatleastoneminute.YoursetupshouldlookliketheoneinFigure2,
below.
a.YoucanalsouseacanofSternoinsteadofacandle.Sternocansproducemoreheatthancandlesdo.
b.Theconvectionshouldstartsoonaftertheheatisapplied.

Figure2.Youroceancurrentsmodelshouldlooksimilartothisonerightafteryouhavelitthecandle.
7.Astheoilheatsandbeginstoflow,observethepatternoffluidflow(circulation)bynotingthelocationofindividual
flakesofthymeovertime.Writedownallofyourobservationsinyourlabnotebook.
a.Thistypeofenergymovementiscalledthermalconvection,becauseaddedheatcausesthefluidflow
(circulationbyconvection)byloweringthedensityoftheliquid.
8.Besuretoviewthemodelseveraltimesduringtheexperiment,bothfromabovethedishandfromthesideofthe
dish.
9.Drawasketchofthemodelinyourlabnotebook.
a.Drawasketchofthecirculationinyourlabnotebook.Notetheshapeoftheconvectioncell(s).
10.Isthepatternapproximatelysymmetriconthetwosidesoftheheatedarea?Wheredoyouobserveupwardflow?
Wheredoyouseedownwardflow?Wheredoyouobservehorizontalflow?
11.Measurethetemperatureoftheoilindifferentpartsofthemodel.
a.Whatisthebiggesttemperaturedifferenceyoucanfind?
b.Recordthetemperatureinyourlabnotebook.
12.Measurethehorizontalvelocityoftheconvectiveflownearthesurfaceoftheliquid.
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a.Placetheruleronthetopofthecontainer(orientedhorizontallyandlengthwise)tomeasurethedistancea
flakeofthymetravels.
b.Useastopwatchtomeasurethetimeittakesasingleflaketomoveacertaindistance(suchasthe
distancefromwhereitreachesthesurfacetowhereitstartstofall).
c.Dividethedistancebythetimetogetvelocity(incentimeterspersecond).
1.Forexample,iftheflakemoves3cmin4sec,itsvelocityis.75cm/sec.
13.Makeanothersketchofthemodelwitharrowsshowingthedirectionandvelocityofthecurrents.
14.Measurethevelocityoftheflakesindifferentpartsofthemodel,somepartsrightaboveornexttotheflame,and
somepartsmuchfartherawayfromtheflame.Recordyourresultsinyourlabnotebook,makingsuretoinclude
howfartheflakewasfromtheflamewhenyoustartedmeasuringtheflakesvelocity,aswellasthetemperature
ofthatpartofthevegetableoil.
a.Areallofthemeasurementsapproximatelythesame?Wherearethevelocitiesthelargest?Whereare
theythesmallest?
b.Whatcouldexplainvariationsinvelocity?
c.Arethedirectionsofflow"awayfrom"theheatedcentralareaofthecontainer?
15.Addanotherlitcandleandrepeatsteps1114tomeasurethetemperatureoftheoilandthevelocityoftheflakes
now.
a.Howdoesincreasingtheheataffectthevelocity?
16.Repeatstep15twomoretimessothatyouaddathirdandthenafourthcandle(iftheysafelyfitbeneaththe
bakingdish,betweenthemugs)andrepeattakingyourmeasurementsoftemperatureandvelocity.Doyourbest
togetallofthecandlesbetweenthemugsandevenlyheatingtheoil.
17.Makeagraphoftemperatureoftheoilversusthevelocityofthecurrent.
a.Doyouseeacorrelationbetweenthetemperatureoftheoilandthevelocityofthecurrent?
b.Canyourelateyourresultstotheglobalconveyorbelt?(Hint:Youmaywanttotryrereadingthe
IntroductionintheBackground(#background)tabtoanswerthisquestion.)

Variations
Addan"island"madefromacanorotherobject.Sketchthecurrentflowaroundtheisland.
Canyouthinkofawaytoadda"polarregion"tothemodel,perhapsusingabagofice?Howdoesthecurrent
changewiththepolarregioninplace?
Caution:Donotaddthepolarregiontoaheatedsetup,astherapidchangeintemperaturecouldbe
dangerous.Instead,addthepolarregiontoaroomtemperaturesetup(i.e.,roomtemperaturevegetableoil
preparedwiththymeflakesinthedish)andthenheatupthesetupusingthecandlesasdescribedinthe
Procedure(#procedure).
Tryalargerheatresistantglassdish,likealasagnapan.Placethecandlesindifferentregionsandsketchthe
currentflow.

AskanExpert
TheAskanExpertForumisintendedtobeaplacewherestudentscangotofindanswerstosciencequestionsthat
theyhavebeenunabletofindusingotherresources.Ifyouhavespecificquestionsaboutyoursciencefairprojector
sciencefair,ourteamofvolunteerscientistscanhelp.OurExpertswon'tdotheworkforyou,buttheywillmake
suggestions,offerguidance,andhelpyoutroubleshoot.
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Itisessentialtotheproductionofmostofthethingsthatpeoplemake,too.
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naturalresources,likewater,minerals,andpetroleumoil,whichareusedineverything
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NewsFeedonThisTopic
SeawaterScience:ModelOceanCurrentsinYourKitchen(http://www.sciencebuddies.org/news/article?
id=110727),ScientificAmerican,February5,2015

AtlanticOceanoverturningfoundtoslowdownalreadytoday
(http://www.sciencebuddies.org/news/article?id=120660),Eurek Alert!,March23,2015

OceanCurrents:WeeklyScienceActivity(http://www.sciencebuddies.org/news/article?id=110982),Science
BuddiesBlog,February6,2015

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