1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Should Know from House Stuff Works 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: dot com. Hey, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh 3 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: Clark with Charles W. Chuck Bryant, and Jerry and this 4 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:20,520 Speaker 1: is Stuff you Should Know, the one about ocean currents. 5 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:25,840 Speaker 1: We should start titling our episodes like Friends did. Yeah, 6 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: the one where Ross talks about ocean currents. Yeah, the 7 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:32,920 Speaker 1: one where Chuck's eyes glazed over. I love this stuff, man, 8 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 1: Like Earth science really gets me jazz. That's good, it 9 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:43,080 Speaker 1: really does. Like it's so like, it's very detailed. There's 10 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:47,880 Speaker 1: a lot to it. It's often oversimplified, but it's also 11 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: very understandable. And when you really like learn about it, 12 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 1: you realize what an elegant system the whole thing is. Sure, 13 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: maybe not necessarily a living organism, but I could see 14 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: how someone would characterize it as such. I like that. 15 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 1: It's good intro. Yeah, that's what I got. Uh so, Yes, 16 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: tidal ocean currents, well, not tidal, that's part of the 17 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:14,039 Speaker 1: ocean currents. It's a type of current. It's under the 18 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: current umbrella. I've misspoken the first ten seconds. I think 19 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:21,760 Speaker 1: it's funny that in this article the word current refers 20 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 1: to the motion of water when speaking of water? Is 21 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:30,479 Speaker 1: that what it says when speaking of water, the word 22 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:33,400 Speaker 1: current refers to the motion of the water. Yeah, it 23 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 1: was a little clumsy Miriam's defines. Yeah, uh, well, this 24 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,959 Speaker 1: is about ocean currents. Are all kinds of currents, river currents, Yeah, 25 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:46,959 Speaker 1: you know, there's currents in marshes and swamps and currents 26 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: all over the place. But this is about ocean currents. Yeah, 27 00:01:50,120 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: as long as water is not stagnant, there's currents present. 28 00:01:53,120 --> 00:01:57,480 Speaker 1: And if it's stagnant, it's bad news Jack mosquitoes disease. Sure, 29 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:00,920 Speaker 1: But then again, you can make the case that if 30 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:03,880 Speaker 1: it's not stagnant, if if there's a current, it'll carry 31 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: your car away in the blink of an eye. I 32 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:08,800 Speaker 1: don't even think about it. Boy, did you see the 33 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,720 Speaker 1: photos of the Downtown Connector the other day in Atlanta 34 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:15,520 Speaker 1: when it flooded. Apparently the storm drains backed up in 35 00:02:16,680 --> 00:02:20,240 Speaker 1: the downtown Connector of Atlanta was a lake. Wow, Like 36 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:24,800 Speaker 1: it literally stopped traffic. I can believe that. Yeah, people 37 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:26,639 Speaker 1: in Atlanta don't know how to drive in the rain 38 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 1: to begin with. Oh, I don't know about that really. Yeah, 39 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:33,360 Speaker 1: that's all we do was driving the rain man. People 40 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:35,120 Speaker 1: in l A don't have to driving the rain. Seems 41 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,480 Speaker 1: to me like everybody's brain just drops a couple of 42 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:41,920 Speaker 1: years when rain starts, and everyone starts like bumping into 43 00:02:41,919 --> 00:02:44,639 Speaker 1: everybody else and like driving it two miles an hour, 44 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:47,959 Speaker 1: and you just like pedal to the metal. What's different 45 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 1: all the time. I got good tires. Yeah, Look, because 46 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: you liked our stores, right, I don't like tip stores, 47 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,080 Speaker 1: but I'm willing to spend time there to get good 48 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:03,960 Speaker 1: tires that move water away from my car so I 49 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: can if I have really fast no matter what the weather, 50 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:10,919 Speaker 1: you should start your I want to point out. Jerry 51 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: just sighed heavily at this tangent. I think your retirement 52 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: business should be Josh's tire house. Yeah, and then have 53 00:03:19,120 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 1: a really sweet setup. Would be like fine tires. Just 54 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:24,280 Speaker 1: here's like no place else on earth. Oh yeah, you 55 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:27,799 Speaker 1: got WiFi. You got a coffee machine? Well there's well no, 56 00:03:28,040 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: I mean a baristah, like a you know, a little 57 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:33,960 Speaker 1: mini Starbucks right there in your tire shop. Games have 58 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:38,400 Speaker 1: icebreakers meet and greets. Yeah, I could serve icebreakers come 59 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:42,720 Speaker 1: to you get have tinder Tinder day. Okay, Well, I 60 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:46,080 Speaker 1: don't know a Roman therapy would be good to be 61 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:50,760 Speaker 1: a big one massage. Yeah, alright, let's my's my plan 62 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:54,480 Speaker 1: b all right, Josh's tire warehouse and pourium, I think 63 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 1: is what we came up with. Josh's big house of 64 00:03:56,600 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: tires or house with big tires. Okay, so ocean currents 65 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 1: we're back to it. So um. One of the things 66 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:08,600 Speaker 1: that I did not realize, Chuck, when researching this is 67 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 1: that ocean currents they're they're old, but they aren't permanent. 68 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:18,400 Speaker 1: They haven't always been around. Currents change, you know. Some 69 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: currents have been at it for thousands and thousands of years. 70 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:25,400 Speaker 1: Other currents change months a month, very fickle in some cases. 71 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,920 Speaker 1: But there are some really ancient currents, some ancient ocean 72 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,599 Speaker 1: currents out there that are um very old and have 73 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:36,160 Speaker 1: been this way since say, like um, like the Gulf 74 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: Stream has been around for about five million years, ever 75 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:45,720 Speaker 1: since the Isthmus of Panama. Pretty cool stuff, huh. Yeah. 76 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,720 Speaker 1: I think what I found the most interesting was that 77 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:53,400 Speaker 1: ocean currents they have a purpose. You know, it's not 78 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: just like water moving around willy nilly. You know. If 79 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:58,919 Speaker 1: it wasn't for ocean currents, there would be no life 80 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:02,680 Speaker 1: in Antarctica. Right, well, maybe not all of Antarctica, but 81 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:08,040 Speaker 1: no ocean marine life. But that's that's an important point. Like, 82 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 1: if there's no ocean marine life, then there's no like 83 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,599 Speaker 1: to say, there's no phytoplankton, there's no phytoplankton, there's no 84 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:18,920 Speaker 1: fishies eating the phytoplankton. There's no fishies around to eat 85 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:22,040 Speaker 1: the phytoplankton. There's no seals to eat the fishies. If 86 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 1: there's no seals, Like, everything finds its support, its basis 87 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:32,719 Speaker 1: in the ocean. Life that's all supported by the currents. 88 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:35,240 Speaker 1: That's right. So the fact that has purpose, it's very 89 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: teleological of you, chuck. So let's not put this off anymonger. 90 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:42,520 Speaker 1: Let's talk about different types of currents. You can't talk 91 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: about tire stores anymore. Okay, we're done with the tire stores. 92 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:48,520 Speaker 1: Like I started to get nauseated just talking that much 93 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: about tire stores. Alright, I don't feel good. Well, uh, 94 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 1: let's start with surface currents then, but I'll bring you 95 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:58,680 Speaker 1: back to the to the ocean earth science, your home 96 00:05:58,760 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: earth sciences that you love. Uh. Surface currents occur about 97 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: three to fo um deep and above. Yeah, they're called 98 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: surface currents, right, and they're driven by the wind. Yeah, 99 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:14,200 Speaker 1: they make up for about ten percent of the ocean. 100 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 1: And um, if you've ever gone to the beach, you've 101 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:22,080 Speaker 1: seen coastal currents. UM surface currents. There's a couple of types. 102 00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:24,960 Speaker 1: Coastal is one of them. You see them in action, right, 103 00:06:25,200 --> 00:06:27,560 Speaker 1: like playing in the sand as a little kid or 104 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: as an adult. You're you're seeing coastal surface currents at work. 105 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:37,480 Speaker 1: So let's step back one more degree. So service currents 106 00:06:37,520 --> 00:06:42,320 Speaker 1: are created by wave action, that's right. Especially coastal currents 107 00:06:42,440 --> 00:06:45,200 Speaker 1: are created by wave action, which is created by wind. 108 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:49,279 Speaker 1: Waves are created by wind. And you know Buckminster Fuller, 109 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:52,360 Speaker 1: the inventor of the geodesic dome, among other great things, 110 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: he was the person who pointed out that the wind 111 00:06:55,440 --> 00:07:00,839 Speaker 1: doesn't blow, the wind sucks. It's a good point, right, So, 112 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:04,720 Speaker 1: and so if coastal currents begin with waves, waves begin 113 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 1: with wind. Wind begins with heat because at the equator 114 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 1: you have a lot of sunshine all year round and 115 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 1: it's very warm, as anyone who's been near the equator 116 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:21,240 Speaker 1: can attest. Um, And that heat heats up air, and 117 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:24,080 Speaker 1: as the air heats up, it moves away from the equator. 118 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:27,280 Speaker 1: It's like, I gotta go cool off. It moves towards 119 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,080 Speaker 1: the poles north and south, and as it moves toward 120 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 1: the poles, it cools down and turns back around. It's 121 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:36,080 Speaker 1: like I need to heat back up at the equator, right. 122 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:38,880 Speaker 1: And as a result of this, you have wind. And 123 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: this wind pushes on the surface of the water, transfer 124 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:44,720 Speaker 1: some of its energy in the form of friction to 125 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: the water surface and creates waves and those waves transfer 126 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:50,920 Speaker 1: the energy to shoreline and when they come in at 127 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: an angle, that's when you get that coastal current. Right. Yeah, 128 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:56,880 Speaker 1: Like with you've again, if you ever been to the 129 00:07:56,880 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: beach and you see the tide or the waves coming 130 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 1: in at that angle, and you see it moving with 131 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:06,520 Speaker 1: the beach, Like if you've ever been out playing on 132 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:09,520 Speaker 1: like a raft is a little kid, you look up 133 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:11,880 Speaker 1: an hour later and your parents are like half a 134 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 1: mile down the beach from where you start, right. It's 135 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:16,600 Speaker 1: a bit of a panicky situation, it is. And also 136 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:18,400 Speaker 1: you're like, what kind of parents do I have that 137 00:08:18,440 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: they just let me drift half a mile? Yea, you 138 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:22,440 Speaker 1: know they're passed out in the sand at that point. 139 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 1: Uh So that is called when when uh, a wave 140 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:29,240 Speaker 1: breaks on the beach at that angle, it's gonna pull 141 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:32,160 Speaker 1: sediment and sand and water down in what's known as 142 00:08:32,200 --> 00:08:36,319 Speaker 1: a long shore current. That is, uh it's directed off parallel, 143 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:39,400 Speaker 1: also perpendicular, but the parallel movement is the long shore 144 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:42,320 Speaker 1: uh current. Yeah. It's like when a wave comes into 145 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:45,840 Speaker 1: an angle to the shore, it distributes its energy. Part 146 00:08:45,840 --> 00:08:47,560 Speaker 1: of it directly on to the shore. Part of it 147 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:50,760 Speaker 1: parallels is short and um, that's that long shore current, 148 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:52,719 Speaker 1: like you said. And one of the things that it does, 149 00:08:52,800 --> 00:08:56,120 Speaker 1: you also said, is it takes sand and other stuff 150 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,640 Speaker 1: and deposits it elsewhere further down and along the way. 151 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:04,680 Speaker 1: It creates things like barrier islands and sandbars and all 152 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:09,280 Speaker 1: that stuff. And that's ever shifting, ever moving, um, eroding 153 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:14,760 Speaker 1: and depositing of sand and sediment and those little underwater 154 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:18,959 Speaker 1: and sometimes above water deposits create other types of current, 155 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:23,400 Speaker 1: specifically a riptide current. Yeah. Um, that's the longshore drift 156 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:26,720 Speaker 1: and um, like if you've ever seen like the beach 157 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:30,679 Speaker 1: curve back in pretty hard. The water can't make that 158 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:34,000 Speaker 1: turn really, so it's just gonna deposit stuff and sort 159 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:35,480 Speaker 1: of drop it off there at the end of that 160 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 1: point and it'll build up and what's known as a spit, right, 161 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 1: and so all of those, all those obstructions, um, all 162 00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: those deposits form obstructions for waves. When they're going back 163 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:51,400 Speaker 1: out once they transfer their energy, they're like, oh, I'm 164 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:53,360 Speaker 1: pretty far inland. I need to get back out of 165 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:58,920 Speaker 1: the ocean. Yeah, And so it backs up right, and 166 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:03,520 Speaker 1: as it does encounters these underwater barriers that it itself 167 00:10:03,679 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 1: have deposited. It's kind of a big ironic moment. And 168 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:10,120 Speaker 1: so it can't get back out to see as fast 169 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:13,400 Speaker 1: as it wants because it's running into these obstructions. And 170 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 1: when there's like a break in the obstruction, like a 171 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:18,320 Speaker 1: sandbar or something like that had a break in the sandbar, 172 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 1: it provides a natural funnel and that creates a rip 173 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 1: tide current. Yeah, like, hey, look at that little narrow channel. 174 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:27,920 Speaker 1: I'm gonna take all this water that would normally just 175 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:30,640 Speaker 1: flow out nice and easy. I'm gonna send it through there, 176 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:34,360 Speaker 1: and I'm gonna grab your little kid and take it 177 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:38,240 Speaker 1: taken with me. Right. If this, it creates basically suction. 178 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:40,680 Speaker 1: Just like when you open a drain in a bathtub 179 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:44,040 Speaker 1: and it starts to drain, it drains pretty quick. Yeah, 180 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:47,040 Speaker 1: it's dangerous, Like that's how you drown when you're swimming 181 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:50,120 Speaker 1: in the ocean. You hear about strong rip currents and 182 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:53,920 Speaker 1: inclement weather and um, it's no joke. Even really good 183 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: swimmers can get caught in a ripping. Yeah, and it's 184 00:10:56,559 --> 00:11:00,880 Speaker 1: bad news riptide, very bad news. Um. And then there's 185 00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:04,520 Speaker 1: some other currents that are created that um don't just 186 00:11:04,559 --> 00:11:07,600 Speaker 1: occur at the at the shore, but they do. They 187 00:11:07,679 --> 00:11:10,440 Speaker 1: occur in the ocean and at the shore there's this 188 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:14,880 Speaker 1: thing called upwelling. This stuff and upwelling can happen in 189 00:11:14,920 --> 00:11:17,920 Speaker 1: a few different ways, but as far as the coast 190 00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:22,280 Speaker 1: is concerned. When wind comes in and it basically blows 191 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:25,800 Speaker 1: water away from an area, like from the shore, right, 192 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:28,559 Speaker 1: water likes to try to even itself out. So as 193 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:32,720 Speaker 1: some water is blown away from the surface, this stuff 194 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:35,720 Speaker 1: that's below it, the deeper water will come up and 195 00:11:35,760 --> 00:11:40,240 Speaker 1: basically replace it, and that's upwelling. Yeah. It's another like 196 00:11:40,280 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 1: what strikes me when you look at wind and all 197 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:45,640 Speaker 1: these currents. Everything is circular almost right, so a lot 198 00:11:45,679 --> 00:11:49,440 Speaker 1: of spinning going on. Yeah, there's a really um distinct 199 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:53,800 Speaker 1: relationship between wind and water. It's inseparable, especially when you're 200 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:57,960 Speaker 1: talking about global winds and currents together, right, But both 201 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:00,680 Speaker 1: of them are broken down to fluid dynamic X and 202 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:04,280 Speaker 1: they do form these circles and cycles and clockwise motions 203 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:07,800 Speaker 1: and counterclockwise motions depending on where you are in the world. Yeah. 204 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 1: And in the case of upwelling and downwelling, it's not 205 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:14,679 Speaker 1: a horizontal spin, but it is a vertical um from 206 00:12:14,760 --> 00:12:16,880 Speaker 1: top to bottom and then from bottom back up to 207 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:19,640 Speaker 1: the top. Yeah. And you want to talk about um 208 00:12:19,720 --> 00:12:23,959 Speaker 1: that was which one. Well, both it's the same pattern 209 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:26,560 Speaker 1: from top to bottom and bottom to top with upwelling 210 00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:29,400 Speaker 1: and down welling. Right. And the whole thing about upwelling 211 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:33,240 Speaker 1: and downwelling, whether it's at the shore or in the ocean, um, 212 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:38,080 Speaker 1: is that the ocean is kind of It's not like 213 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:40,360 Speaker 1: if you take a slice of ocean at the top, 214 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:42,640 Speaker 1: you take a slice of ocean at the bottom, very 215 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:45,000 Speaker 1: different and you look at them. Yeah, under a microscope 216 00:12:45,200 --> 00:12:48,600 Speaker 1: or test um for whatever, you know, using some sort 217 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:53,600 Speaker 1: of uh, spectroscope, maybe some sort of oscillator, glavin or 218 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:56,280 Speaker 1: something like that, or just look at it. Yeah, you're 219 00:12:56,320 --> 00:12:59,400 Speaker 1: going to find that there's it's like two different types 220 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:01,520 Speaker 1: of water. Even though it's from the same part of 221 00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:04,920 Speaker 1: it's from the same section of ocean, right, And the 222 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:07,600 Speaker 1: stuff at the top is going to be very oxygen rich. 223 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:11,400 Speaker 1: There's gonna be a lot of life phytoplankton, that kind 224 00:13:11,400 --> 00:13:14,240 Speaker 1: of stuff, um, but not too many nutrients. The stuff 225 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:18,240 Speaker 1: at the bottom is gonna be lousy with C O two. Yeah, 226 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:21,880 Speaker 1: very cold and a lot of nutrients. Right. And when 227 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:26,320 Speaker 1: both of these things are needed at different spots, So 228 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:29,600 Speaker 1: the upwelling and the downwelling creates this kind of gas 229 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:34,199 Speaker 1: exchange and nutrient exchange throughout the ocean. And the oxygen 230 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:37,040 Speaker 1: at the top when it's deposited down lower thanks to 231 00:13:37,120 --> 00:13:41,120 Speaker 1: down welling, all of that oxygen circulates downward through the 232 00:13:41,160 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 1: ocean and all the fishies that need oxygen in their 233 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:46,880 Speaker 1: gills get to breathe it in, right. Yeah. And with upwelling, 234 00:13:47,200 --> 00:13:50,960 Speaker 1: like I mentioned earlier in Antarctica, where it's super cold 235 00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:54,079 Speaker 1: and you would not expect marine life to do so well, 236 00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:57,920 Speaker 1: it is because of the upwelling that brings the nutrients 237 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:00,280 Speaker 1: from the bottom up to the top. And that's iCal 238 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:03,440 Speaker 1: and that's called life. And one other really neat thing 239 00:14:03,480 --> 00:14:07,000 Speaker 1: about upwelling and down welling is um that oxygen that's 240 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:09,679 Speaker 1: at the top of the ocean. Were it to just 241 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:13,559 Speaker 1: sit there for very long and dissolve, we would have 242 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:16,839 Speaker 1: a very big problem because all of that life, once 243 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 1: it dies, would decay very quickly up tops. No, it wouldn't, 244 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,080 Speaker 1: because anaerobic bacteria would begin to thrive and we'd have 245 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:28,520 Speaker 1: a over abundance of hydrogen sulfide, which would lead to 246 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:32,080 Speaker 1: ocean acidification, which would mean the end of the world. Basically, 247 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:36,000 Speaker 1: So that nutrient swap is very important for everybody on 248 00:14:36,040 --> 00:14:38,880 Speaker 1: the planet. Yeah, and there's this elegant solution to the 249 00:14:38,920 --> 00:14:42,480 Speaker 1: oceans that happens every day everywhere in the ocean thanks 250 00:14:42,520 --> 00:14:45,960 Speaker 1: to upwelling and downwelling. All right, well that's a good start, 251 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:49,480 Speaker 1: my friend. Um my eyes are not glazed over, actually good, 252 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:53,320 Speaker 1: they're sharp, full of life. Um. We will talk after 253 00:14:53,360 --> 00:15:16,920 Speaker 1: this break about some more surface currents. All right, Josh, 254 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:19,600 Speaker 1: there's more than one kind of surface current. We covered 255 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:21,880 Speaker 1: the I kind of like that first part, but there's 256 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:27,120 Speaker 1: also surface ocean currents. And uh, again, the wind is 257 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:32,359 Speaker 1: the big contributor to how these babies form um and specifically, 258 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,120 Speaker 1: I guess we should talk about the Coriolis effect. Yeah, 259 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:39,680 Speaker 1: this is a this is a game changer, as people 260 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:43,440 Speaker 1: who read self help books on airplanes would call it. Right, yeah, 261 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:46,440 Speaker 1: so um. Again, it all starts with heat, and all 262 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:52,560 Speaker 1: that heat is found in its thickest part at the equator. 263 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:56,280 Speaker 1: And my brain is broken. So at the equator it's 264 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:59,200 Speaker 1: the hottest, right, that's right. And it's also also a 265 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:02,160 Speaker 1: spinning fast or the equator than at the poles, right, 266 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:06,000 Speaker 1: it is okay, so um, it's the Earth that is yeah, 267 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:09,280 Speaker 1: so um. At the equator it's hot, it's spinning faster 268 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:13,560 Speaker 1: because of the spin. Because of the heat. The ocean 269 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:17,800 Speaker 1: is actually about eight centimeters high higher here than at 270 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:21,120 Speaker 1: the rest of the ocean. That's so much higher, So 271 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:24,200 Speaker 1: there's a right, it's just enough to make water flow 272 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:28,120 Speaker 1: away from the equator. Plus you've got wind that's whipped 273 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:32,240 Speaker 1: up because hot air at the equator starts moving northward 274 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:36,360 Speaker 1: and cools down and that creates wind. Right, So if 275 00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:39,120 Speaker 1: the Earth didn't rotate, you would still have these things. 276 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:42,720 Speaker 1: But wind would travel in a straight line away from 277 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:46,120 Speaker 1: the equator towards the poles, cool down and turn around 278 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:48,320 Speaker 1: and come back in a straight line. That's right. But 279 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:51,360 Speaker 1: that's not the case. No, it isn't because the Earth 280 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:54,640 Speaker 1: does rotate and it produces the Coriolis effect. Yeah, it's 281 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:57,560 Speaker 1: like a curve. Basically, it uh curves to the right 282 00:16:57,560 --> 00:16:59,360 Speaker 1: in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the 283 00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:03,080 Speaker 1: southern hemisp here. Right, so it makes wind curve and 284 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:07,200 Speaker 1: since wind drives surface currents, it makes surface currents curve 285 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:10,639 Speaker 1: as well. Right, that's right. So what's really cool is 286 00:17:11,080 --> 00:17:15,280 Speaker 1: the ocean has its own topography. It's it's definitely not fight. 287 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:17,080 Speaker 1: Anybody who's looked at ocean could be like, oh, it's 288 00:17:17,080 --> 00:17:19,560 Speaker 1: pretty choppy. But if you if you could step back 289 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 1: even further and you had the right kind of topographical 290 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:28,160 Speaker 1: glasses on, maybe you would see that there's like valleys 291 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:31,600 Speaker 1: and ocean and mountains and maybe not mountains, but little 292 00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:35,120 Speaker 1: tiny hills and valleys in the ocean. So, like I said, 293 00:17:35,160 --> 00:17:38,480 Speaker 1: it has its own topography. And this is created by 294 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:41,400 Speaker 1: those winds that push on the water. And as they're 295 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:44,280 Speaker 1: pushing the water up and the Coriolis effect is turning 296 00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:48,159 Speaker 1: at some water starts to kind of mound. So in 297 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:50,760 Speaker 1: some parts of the ocean you have water that forms 298 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:54,200 Speaker 1: a mountain that's about like three to six ft tall. Yeah, 299 00:17:54,359 --> 00:17:59,159 Speaker 1: it doesn't sound intuitive, no water mounding up on itself. 300 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:02,200 Speaker 1: You think if it as ye, But there is actually 301 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:06,080 Speaker 1: water that's mounded up into little hills, okay. And so 302 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:11,320 Speaker 1: that means that gravity wants to push this water downward, right, 303 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:14,600 Speaker 1: But it doesn't just go back down the hill, because 304 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:20,359 Speaker 1: the Coriolis effect pushes it upward. And the net outcome 305 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:24,439 Speaker 1: is that instead the water just says, how about it 306 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:27,159 Speaker 1: just go around instead? Yeah, you stay up here on 307 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:29,640 Speaker 1: the mound, you stay down here, but I AM going 308 00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:32,480 Speaker 1: to just go around. And what it does is, since 309 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:36,080 Speaker 1: a mound is roughly circular, it creates a current that 310 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:39,399 Speaker 1: goes around these things, around these mounds. And there's five 311 00:18:39,760 --> 00:18:42,439 Speaker 1: major ones in the entire world where you're headed, and 312 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:46,160 Speaker 1: they form what are called gyres, that's right, g y R, E, S, 313 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:50,880 Speaker 1: and um. They are the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, 314 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:53,880 Speaker 1: South Pacific, and then the Indian Ocean has its very 315 00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:57,280 Speaker 1: own gyre. There are smaller ones around Antarctica, but those 316 00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:01,480 Speaker 1: are the five major gyres. We about the Gulf Stream earlier. 317 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:05,240 Speaker 1: That is a part of the North Atlantic gyre, and 318 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:10,760 Speaker 1: it carries times the water of the entire Mississippi River. 319 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,679 Speaker 1: The Gulf Stream does. Yeah, the Gulf Stream is the 320 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 1: hero of all gyres. It is it moves um. Let 321 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:21,119 Speaker 1: me see, I've got to find this one because this 322 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:25,240 Speaker 1: is so amazing. So the the Gulf Stream, at any 323 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:30,719 Speaker 1: given point, it moves water at a rate of fifteen 324 00:19:31,359 --> 00:19:37,520 Speaker 1: superdomes worth per second. So you remember the superdome in Louisiana. Yes, 325 00:19:38,240 --> 00:19:41,680 Speaker 1: say you've filled it with water, and then you took 326 00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:46,840 Speaker 1: copied fourteen more times, so you have fifteen superdomes full 327 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:50,000 Speaker 1: of water. That's how much water passes through any given 328 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:54,800 Speaker 1: point per second. Okay in the Gulf Stream. All right, 329 00:19:55,119 --> 00:19:57,119 Speaker 1: that's a lot of water. How many big max is 330 00:19:57,200 --> 00:20:00,919 Speaker 1: at It's trillions of big max billions and billions served. 331 00:20:01,119 --> 00:20:05,680 Speaker 1: But the the Gulf Stream itself is actually um. It's 332 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:11,720 Speaker 1: technically the western boundary current of the North Atlantic gyre. Yeah, 333 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:13,960 Speaker 1: and it's gonna carry warm water. It's it has a 334 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:16,359 Speaker 1: big impact in the world. It's gonna carry warm water 335 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:20,400 Speaker 1: up north from the Gulf of Mexico. And that's why 336 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:23,240 Speaker 1: if you're living on the east coast of Florida, you're 337 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:27,679 Speaker 1: gonna have cooler summers and warmer winters. Um. Western Europe 338 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:29,760 Speaker 1: is gonna be a lot warmer than other places on 339 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:33,600 Speaker 1: its exact same latitude. And this is all because of 340 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:36,560 Speaker 1: the Gulf Stream. You can deposit bodies in it if 341 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:40,240 Speaker 1: you're dexter, and those things are gonna yep, see a 342 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:42,920 Speaker 1: later body. Yeah, it will probably get carried to England 343 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 1: and they'll be like blind, me was this? Uh So 344 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:49,720 Speaker 1: that's just the Gulf Stream. There's actually at least four 345 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:52,520 Speaker 1: major currents that form the boundary currents of the North 346 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:56,040 Speaker 1: Atlantic Gyre, and the North Atlantic Gire is just one. 347 00:20:56,119 --> 00:20:58,440 Speaker 1: We've also talked about jarres before with the Great Pacific 348 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:01,359 Speaker 1: Garbage Patch. Yeah we covered did we do waves or 349 00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:05,120 Speaker 1: did we just do We did rogue waves too, but 350 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:08,920 Speaker 1: we covered waves and surfing. Okay, ye remember that. Um 351 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:13,359 Speaker 1: But these these boundary currents are created again in part 352 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:17,800 Speaker 1: by the the winds flowing away from the um equator, 353 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,480 Speaker 1: the Coriolis effect, turning the waves and the mounds of 354 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:26,360 Speaker 1: water circulating the waves in around them. So you've got 355 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 1: these like just clockwise or counterclockwise depending on which hemisphere 356 00:21:29,760 --> 00:21:33,840 Speaker 1: you are, currents that are just massive that move water 357 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:37,800 Speaker 1: around and again they cycle nutrients. Like you said, they 358 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:42,520 Speaker 1: affect the weather because they deposit warm water from the 359 00:21:42,560 --> 00:21:46,280 Speaker 1: south up to all the way up to England apparently. 360 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:51,920 Speaker 1: Um so you know, England is on the same latitude 361 00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:57,000 Speaker 1: as like, um, some glacial parts of Canada. Yeah, that 362 00:21:57,119 --> 00:22:00,480 Speaker 1: makes sense. But they're they're winners, are like nothing into that, 363 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:04,159 Speaker 1: you know, Thank you ocean. Same thing as a Bermuda 364 00:22:04,680 --> 00:22:07,919 Speaker 1: is very temperate, has very nice climate, and it's on 365 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:11,320 Speaker 1: the same latitude as North Carolina, which is you know, 366 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:14,720 Speaker 1: it can get kind of cold there. That's all thanks 367 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,640 Speaker 1: to the Gulf Stream. Thank you Gulf Stream. And if 368 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:19,600 Speaker 1: you want to thank the Gulf Stream, Chuck, you can 369 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:23,399 Speaker 1: thank Ben Franklin because he's the one who named it. Yeah. 370 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 1: As the first Postmaster General of the United States, he 371 00:22:27,520 --> 00:22:30,360 Speaker 1: wanted to figure out why Mayo took so many more 372 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,960 Speaker 1: weeks longer to get from England to the US than 373 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,360 Speaker 1: it did from the US to England, because they're they're 374 00:22:36,359 --> 00:22:39,359 Speaker 1: going against traffic exactly. But he didn't know that, and 375 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:42,680 Speaker 1: he found out and he took some measurements and roughly 376 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:46,720 Speaker 1: charted the Gulf Stream back in the eighteenth century. He 377 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:49,000 Speaker 1: was a smart dude, he really was. That was pretty amazing. 378 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:52,199 Speaker 1: I didn't know he dabbled in oceanography. But again, the 379 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:56,199 Speaker 1: Gulf stream amazing, and it's just one boundary current of 380 00:22:56,400 --> 00:23:00,119 Speaker 1: one major gyre. Yeah, it's kind of a hypnotic. If 381 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:03,960 Speaker 1: you look at these motion maps of global motion maps 382 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:06,880 Speaker 1: of like trade winds and ocean currents. Yeah, I could 383 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:09,639 Speaker 1: watch those videos all day. It's just stuff spinning around 384 00:23:09,760 --> 00:23:13,320 Speaker 1: and like traveling around, and it's really it's soothing, and 385 00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:17,040 Speaker 1: especially when they do like heat gradients or topographical gradients, 386 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:20,199 Speaker 1: so it's really colorful too, and it's ever shifting. You 387 00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:22,560 Speaker 1: can just get a little jewel out of the corner 388 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:24,280 Speaker 1: of my mouth when I watched though, it's about as 389 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:27,200 Speaker 1: good as watching Phantasia. Um. There's one other thing we 390 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:30,760 Speaker 1: should say about those surface currents is they drag on 391 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:34,159 Speaker 1: the water below them, right, So the wind is transferring 392 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:38,040 Speaker 1: its energy to the surface of the water. Yeah, and 393 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:40,640 Speaker 1: it drags a little bit less is the deeper you go. Right. 394 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:45,840 Speaker 1: Apparently though, the current that the motion of water, um 395 00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:50,920 Speaker 1: usually goes in opposition to the motion of wind. So 396 00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:52,760 Speaker 1: what you end up having if you could take a 397 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:56,280 Speaker 1: column slice from top to bottom of the ocean, you 398 00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:59,240 Speaker 1: would find that the water ultimately is making a very 399 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:02,480 Speaker 1: long down words spiral. Yeah. So, and that's called the 400 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:06,080 Speaker 1: ekmun spiral. Yeah, that there's a graphic of that that 401 00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:09,399 Speaker 1: looks pretty neat as well, pretty neat again, mesmerizing stuff, 402 00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:14,879 Speaker 1: so chuck um. After this, we will talk about the 403 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:36,640 Speaker 1: global conveyor belt. It's my favorite part, I think, all right, 404 00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:43,400 Speaker 1: my favorite part of ocean currency. Ocean currents, the deep 405 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:46,359 Speaker 1: ocean current a k a. The Global conveyor belt is 406 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:50,040 Speaker 1: fascinating to me. Um. If you're talking about this is 407 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:53,960 Speaker 1: about if the surface currents are about ten about of 408 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,240 Speaker 1: the ocean's water, uh is part of the deep ocean current, 409 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:01,800 Speaker 1: and we can't see it, um because we're up here 410 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:04,440 Speaker 1: on Earth and we are not deep under the water. 411 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:07,960 Speaker 1: It's invisible to us. But um, it circles the globe 412 00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:11,040 Speaker 1: at a four sixteen times is strong as all of 413 00:25:11,119 --> 00:25:15,399 Speaker 1: the world's rivers combined, which is again still not as 414 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:20,800 Speaker 1: much as the the the Gulf Stream. Still pretty impressive. 415 00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:25,080 Speaker 1: It's pretty impressive, um, but slow so like water. It 416 00:25:25,160 --> 00:25:28,920 Speaker 1: moves super water a few centimeters a second, whereas the 417 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:31,879 Speaker 1: Gulf stream moves waters at like a couple dred centimeters 418 00:25:31,880 --> 00:25:34,240 Speaker 1: a second. Yeah, I think the conveyor belt, they said, 419 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:39,640 Speaker 1: like one patch will take a thousand years to completely Yeah, 420 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:42,480 Speaker 1: around yeah, the circuit. Yeah, and it takes ten years 421 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:45,760 Speaker 1: for water to make a full circuit on the North 422 00:25:45,800 --> 00:25:51,399 Speaker 1: Atlantic gyre. Yeah, so ten years and then a thousand years. Yeah. Um. 423 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:55,280 Speaker 1: So the global conveyor belt, it is uh driven by density, 424 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:58,600 Speaker 1: which I think is pretty interesting. Um. Yeah, because up 425 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:00,600 Speaker 1: to this point it's all been driven by wind, which 426 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:03,640 Speaker 1: is ultimately driven by heat. This is also driven by 427 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,720 Speaker 1: heat in a way, but in a completely different way. Yeah, 428 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:11,119 Speaker 1: heat and salt um thermohaline circulation thermo being heat and 429 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:16,520 Speaker 1: haling being salt. Uh. Warm water holds less salt. So 430 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:20,240 Speaker 1: what happens is like let's say you're in the Antarctic 431 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:25,840 Speaker 1: and water freezes to form an iceberg or water evaporates. 432 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,160 Speaker 1: Either way, salt is not going to be a part 433 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:30,720 Speaker 1: of that equation. Now the salt is left behind as 434 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:33,840 Speaker 1: the water freezes, and you know, icebergs on salt salty 435 00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:36,760 Speaker 1: their fresh water. Yeah, so the salt is left behind. 436 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:39,760 Speaker 1: It's got to go somewhere. Um, it is going to 437 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:42,320 Speaker 1: be very dense at that point. So it is going 438 00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:45,160 Speaker 1: to be cold and dense and sink to the ocean floor. 439 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:49,399 Speaker 1: So remember back on talking about right, and we were 440 00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:54,480 Speaker 1: talking about um, coastal um coastal currents and upwelling and 441 00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:57,680 Speaker 1: down welling. Yeah, this plays apart. When water sinks, other 442 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:01,080 Speaker 1: water moves in to replace it. And so what starts 443 00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:03,520 Speaker 1: off here? And this actually I think starts around the 444 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:07,080 Speaker 1: North Pole definitely in the North Atlantic. Um, as that 445 00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:10,399 Speaker 1: water sinks and moves downward, it creates it starts this 446 00:27:10,560 --> 00:27:12,760 Speaker 1: current that goes all the way around the world and 447 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:15,919 Speaker 1: again takes a thousand years to complete. Yeah, it just 448 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:19,520 Speaker 1: kick starts at basically. And um it's called the conveyor belt, 449 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:23,040 Speaker 1: I think because it never stops moving and it's super slow. Yeah, 450 00:27:23,119 --> 00:27:27,560 Speaker 1: I kept getting that remember that, um whatever that Bugs 451 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:31,560 Speaker 1: Bunny assembly line song? Like it was always the same, 452 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:33,480 Speaker 1: Like do you remember that? I can't remember it either. 453 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:35,040 Speaker 1: Now I have our theme song in my head. I'm 454 00:27:35,119 --> 00:27:37,520 Speaker 1: trying to think about it. But there's like anytime Bugs 455 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:39,719 Speaker 1: Bunny messed around on a conveyor belt or something, they 456 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:46,240 Speaker 1: use the same like composition. I'll try to find it. So, uh, 457 00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:49,840 Speaker 1: once this water hits Antarctica, basically the same thing happens 458 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:53,800 Speaker 1: all over again. The cold water is gonna split. Some 459 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:56,240 Speaker 1: of it heads to the Indian Ocean, some heads to 460 00:27:56,280 --> 00:27:59,720 Speaker 1: the Pacific, and this upwelling and downwelling, the cycle just 461 00:27:59,720 --> 00:28:01,879 Speaker 1: start all over again, yeah, is it? As it moves 462 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:04,159 Speaker 1: closer to like the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, it 463 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:07,760 Speaker 1: gets closer to the equator, the water starts to warm up, 464 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:11,320 Speaker 1: it loses some of its salinity, it starts to thin 465 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:13,920 Speaker 1: out a little bit, and so it rises. And when 466 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:16,159 Speaker 1: it does, it takes all those nutrients and all that 467 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:19,920 Speaker 1: CEO two up with it. And it's very much like 468 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:24,800 Speaker 1: the gas exchange that occurs in the human cardio pulmonary system. Right. Yeah, 469 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:28,719 Speaker 1: it's not homeostasis, but it almost feels like that if 470 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:32,280 Speaker 1: you took the whole system overall. Yeah, it's homeostatic for sure, 471 00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:35,639 Speaker 1: but it's like that by this exchange, this transfer from 472 00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:39,480 Speaker 1: one part to another, from the deep ocean to the surface. UM. 473 00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:43,040 Speaker 1: And and this this as it reaches the surface and 474 00:28:43,080 --> 00:28:47,440 Speaker 1: it depletes its nutrients, it's carried back around UM. It 475 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:52,880 Speaker 1: basically tries to go up hits Um Alaska, Russia, Asia, 476 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:57,640 Speaker 1: North Asia, Northeast Asia, and UM turns back around and 477 00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:02,120 Speaker 1: goes ends up finally back in the North Atlantic, up 478 00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:04,600 Speaker 1: near the North Pole and gets cold and starts all 479 00:29:04,600 --> 00:29:06,480 Speaker 1: over right, And by the time it gets there, it's 480 00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:10,400 Speaker 1: basically nutrient depleted and it sinks and it starts to 481 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:14,440 Speaker 1: recharge again. That's right. And that just like blood in 482 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:17,880 Speaker 1: your in your cardio pulmonary system, it gets depleted, it 483 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:21,120 Speaker 1: ends up going past the lungs, it transfers out CEO two, 484 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:24,400 Speaker 1: it gets in oxygen. This is just the opposite. This 485 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:27,640 Speaker 1: is transferring out oxygen and gaining CEO two and nutrients. 486 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:29,720 Speaker 1: That's a good way to feel connected to the Earth. 487 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:31,479 Speaker 1: When you start looking at things like that, you know, 488 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:40,480 Speaker 1: it's not so different. It's I mean, we're all connected, man. Uh. 489 00:29:40,520 --> 00:29:44,120 Speaker 1: And again there's a big nutrients swap meat happening as 490 00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:48,200 Speaker 1: well with the conveyor belt like we're talking about, and 491 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:51,760 Speaker 1: basically kind of has the same effect as those surface 492 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:56,360 Speaker 1: uh currents do ye as far as exchanging the the 493 00:29:56,400 --> 00:29:59,440 Speaker 1: oxygen and the CEO two and nutrients and just moving 494 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:02,840 Speaker 1: everything where needs to be. UM. I thought this was 495 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:06,760 Speaker 1: pretty cool in this article, UM, the it talks about 496 00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:10,000 Speaker 1: there's also a density driven a thermohalen current in the 497 00:30:10,080 --> 00:30:15,000 Speaker 1: Mediterranean because the Mediterranean is apparently saltier than the Atlantic, 498 00:30:15,840 --> 00:30:18,440 Speaker 1: and as a result, this gradient. Anytime you have a 499 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:23,800 Speaker 1: difference in something, whether it's height, temperature, um, salinity, density. 500 00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:27,400 Speaker 1: Homeostasis is the ultimate goal, so it's going to try 501 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,680 Speaker 1: to go towards the middle, from higher to lower. And 502 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:33,440 Speaker 1: this is the same thing. So it creates that oceanic current. 503 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:38,120 Speaker 1: And apparently in World War two, subs would um run 504 00:30:38,200 --> 00:30:41,800 Speaker 1: silent by going in and out of the Mediterranean without 505 00:30:41,840 --> 00:30:48,280 Speaker 1: their engines on, just using that currently, so they would 506 00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:53,240 Speaker 1: run deep, run silent, run deep exactly. That's frightening. Alright, 507 00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:55,920 Speaker 1: are we a title currents? You don't have to be frightened. 508 00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:59,600 Speaker 1: It was years ago. Yeah, we're a title current that 509 00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:03,920 Speaker 1: they still do that. Now there's no submarines anymore. We 510 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:09,719 Speaker 1: haven't been at war for years. They retired all the submarines. UM. Alright. 511 00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:13,320 Speaker 1: Tidal currents are generated by the tides. UM. We did 512 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:16,600 Speaker 1: talk about UM, like we said, I think in the 513 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:21,760 Speaker 1: rogue waves and surfing about tides and waves and UM. 514 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:24,520 Speaker 1: The gravitational pull of the moon and the Sun, but 515 00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:27,280 Speaker 1: more of the Moon because the Moon is closer, is 516 00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:30,719 Speaker 1: what's gonna cause that bulge on the sides, and it's 517 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:36,640 Speaker 1: gonna drive the water level UM at that bulge. Basically, 518 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:39,960 Speaker 1: it's going to decrease, it's going to increase where it's 519 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:42,120 Speaker 1: a line with the moon and decrease at the halfway 520 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:45,240 Speaker 1: point between those two places. And so and it's always 521 00:31:45,320 --> 00:31:48,480 Speaker 1: changing because the moon, the position of the Moon and 522 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:51,440 Speaker 1: the Sun and the Earth are always changing, but they 523 00:31:51,560 --> 00:31:54,200 Speaker 1: change in a very predictable manner, so we can predict 524 00:31:54,200 --> 00:31:56,280 Speaker 1: when the tides happen. But if you just took a 525 00:31:56,320 --> 00:32:02,240 Speaker 1: snapshot at any given point of the title effect, right, 526 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:06,040 Speaker 1: and if you imagine that the Moon is on one side, 527 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:08,320 Speaker 1: the Sun is on one side, and the Earth is 528 00:32:08,360 --> 00:32:13,840 Speaker 1: on the middle. The world's oceans around the Earth stretch 529 00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:18,800 Speaker 1: out on the sides and um because of that gravitational pull, 530 00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:22,360 Speaker 1: and just imagine that it's always like that. It's always 531 00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:26,160 Speaker 1: just this elliptical oval shape the world's oceans are and 532 00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:29,480 Speaker 1: then the Earth, the dry Earth, is spinning within that 533 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:32,960 Speaker 1: and so the land masses on the Earth are always 534 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:36,320 Speaker 1: coming in and out of that bulge, and so they're 535 00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:39,760 Speaker 1: going from higher to lower tide. It's kind of it 536 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:41,840 Speaker 1: just makes it easier for me, rather than to think 537 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:44,360 Speaker 1: of the oceans moving around the Earth, to think of 538 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:47,800 Speaker 1: the Earth spinning within the ocean, and that causes the 539 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:51,280 Speaker 1: change and tides that does something for you, does it 540 00:32:51,440 --> 00:32:54,560 Speaker 1: all the way? Uh? And these are different than the 541 00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:56,600 Speaker 1: other currents we talked about because they're not it's not 542 00:32:56,640 --> 00:33:00,920 Speaker 1: a continuous stream and they switch directs. That's the high 543 00:33:00,960 --> 00:33:05,800 Speaker 1: tide and low tide and um, it doesn't impact like 544 00:33:05,960 --> 00:33:09,520 Speaker 1: the ocean current that much. It's shoreline stuff. Yeah, but 545 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:13,000 Speaker 1: it's pretty important. I mean, like fish, fishes lay eggs, 546 00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:17,640 Speaker 1: and uh, low tide will pull those eggs out into 547 00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:21,080 Speaker 1: the open ocean and those fish will they'll hatch. It 548 00:33:21,120 --> 00:33:26,120 Speaker 1: also brings food in from the ocean into like marshland 549 00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:29,640 Speaker 1: and that kind of stuff, or washes up jellyfish and 550 00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:32,480 Speaker 1: to delight the children on the beach, yes, but don't 551 00:33:32,680 --> 00:33:36,320 Speaker 1: touch them, you can just look. Uh. And when the 552 00:33:36,320 --> 00:33:39,960 Speaker 1: tide is rising, um, that flow is directed towards the store. 553 00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:42,840 Speaker 1: That's called the flood current. I've heard about that flood 554 00:33:42,840 --> 00:33:45,080 Speaker 1: and the EBB. And the EBB is when it's directed 555 00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:48,880 Speaker 1: back out to sea. And that makes it all very predictable. 556 00:33:48,920 --> 00:33:51,360 Speaker 1: Like you said, we can go to the beach and 557 00:33:51,400 --> 00:33:54,520 Speaker 1: listen to the tide report. It's also a very relaxing 558 00:33:54,560 --> 00:33:57,080 Speaker 1: thing to do. Oh yeah, oh yeah, I listen to that. 559 00:33:57,160 --> 00:34:02,040 Speaker 1: Like the a m like fishing and sharks and title reports. Yeah, 560 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:04,160 Speaker 1: it's very relaxing for me. I like it. I remember 561 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:07,400 Speaker 1: growing up listening to like grain future reports and hog 562 00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:12,480 Speaker 1: reports or stuff like that. Pork futures, um chuck, just 563 00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:15,239 Speaker 1: a couple more things. So, like, there are plenty of 564 00:34:15,239 --> 00:34:19,080 Speaker 1: other currents, and there's also plenty of other wind patterns 565 00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:21,719 Speaker 1: that drive these currents. They do things like create the 566 00:34:21,840 --> 00:34:26,600 Speaker 1: l Nino, which basically takes weather, thunderstorms and stuff around 567 00:34:26,680 --> 00:34:30,440 Speaker 1: the equator and moves them in different places that were 568 00:34:30,440 --> 00:34:32,600 Speaker 1: not used to, which can lead to droughts and floods 569 00:34:32,640 --> 00:34:35,799 Speaker 1: depending on where you are. And then also there's a 570 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:40,120 Speaker 1: lot of concern among scientists who are who know about 571 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:45,640 Speaker 1: this kind of stuff that um changes. Climate change is 572 00:34:45,680 --> 00:34:49,600 Speaker 1: going to is going to ultimately and negatively affect the 573 00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:54,040 Speaker 1: global conveyor belt because as um as the earth warms 574 00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:58,120 Speaker 1: up uh more and more icebergs are gonna melt, creating 575 00:34:58,719 --> 00:35:02,640 Speaker 1: much less salinity. And since the water will be less 576 00:35:02,680 --> 00:35:08,000 Speaker 1: saline um and warmer, it's gonna sink less. And so 577 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:12,520 Speaker 1: that global conveyor belt that relies on cold, dense salty 578 00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:15,920 Speaker 1: water to sink to get it started, is going to slow, 579 00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:19,160 Speaker 1: and that could be bad because remember it's all that's 580 00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:24,600 Speaker 1: the global nutrient exchange. Would no, because then the phytoplankton dies. 581 00:35:24,640 --> 00:35:28,080 Speaker 1: And again when the phytoplankton dies, the fishes die, the 582 00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:31,759 Speaker 1: seals die, polar bears are upset. Well, the poor seals die. 583 00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:37,040 Speaker 1: Either way, it is very sad. Yeah, do you got 584 00:35:37,040 --> 00:35:41,359 Speaker 1: anything else? No, that's it. That's ocean currents. Uh. If 585 00:35:41,440 --> 00:35:44,440 Speaker 1: you want to know more about ocean currents, you can 586 00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:46,719 Speaker 1: type those words into the search bart how stuff works 587 00:35:46,760 --> 00:35:49,279 Speaker 1: dot com. And since I said search bars, time for 588 00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:55,319 Speaker 1: a listener mail. I'm gonna call this French speaker. Um 589 00:35:55,560 --> 00:35:59,239 Speaker 1: doesn't like our heavy metal music interludes. There's a few 590 00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:01,640 Speaker 1: people out there who don't. So here we go. I'm 591 00:36:01,640 --> 00:36:04,560 Speaker 1: gonna read this just as it came. I like you 592 00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:07,360 Speaker 1: very much. Sorry for my bad English, but I speak 593 00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:10,840 Speaker 1: French so it compensates. I have a little problem. I 594 00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:13,520 Speaker 1: feel like I need to tell you. Please don't take 595 00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:16,400 Speaker 1: it the wrong way. I have had problems to sleep 596 00:36:16,480 --> 00:36:18,680 Speaker 1: for a while now, and I found that listening to 597 00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:22,600 Speaker 1: podcasts helped me a lot. I put my iPod under 598 00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:26,439 Speaker 1: my pillow while it plays, where I put only one head. 599 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:31,520 Speaker 1: Sound thing in one ear. I love your podcast because 600 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:35,160 Speaker 1: it's very interesting, intelligent, and also your voices are nice 601 00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:38,400 Speaker 1: and you're never yelling. So I do fall asleep every 602 00:36:38,400 --> 00:36:41,200 Speaker 1: single time. This is a good thing, I swear. Of course, 603 00:36:41,239 --> 00:36:42,960 Speaker 1: it takes me three or four times to listen to 604 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:45,200 Speaker 1: all of it. Usually I really listened to it in 605 00:36:45,239 --> 00:36:47,960 Speaker 1: the car. Now my problem, why do you have to 606 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:51,280 Speaker 1: put loud heavy metal music for a break? I always 607 00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:54,080 Speaker 1: wake up in panic when it starts. I do want 608 00:36:54,120 --> 00:36:57,399 Speaker 1: to continue to listen to you at night, I really do. 609 00:36:57,719 --> 00:37:01,120 Speaker 1: So you have two choices. Either don't change your music 610 00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:04,920 Speaker 1: and think of me every time and laugh, or you 611 00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:08,400 Speaker 1: change it for something, let's say it nicer. Maybe in exchange. 612 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:12,040 Speaker 1: I'm sorry, exchange, I could give you pickup lines in 613 00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:19,800 Speaker 1: French voir or what? Or what Danielle? I have to say, 614 00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:23,799 Speaker 1: hats off, Danielle, because I could not. I couldn't write 615 00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:28,439 Speaker 1: that in French. Oh well you'll speak French, do you? Um? 616 00:37:28,440 --> 00:37:36,160 Speaker 1: Picquito perfect? Thanks to lat Danielle. We will consider removing 617 00:37:36,200 --> 00:37:38,359 Speaker 1: the heavy metal music, which we did before and then 618 00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:40,640 Speaker 1: we brought back because other people are like, bring back 619 00:37:40,640 --> 00:37:44,400 Speaker 1: the heavy metal music. So we're kind of caught between 620 00:37:44,400 --> 00:37:47,080 Speaker 1: a rock and a hard place, Caught between an AMP 621 00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:51,839 Speaker 1: and a hard place. Yeah, yes uh. If you want 622 00:37:51,920 --> 00:37:54,440 Speaker 1: to let us know how you feel about our music 623 00:37:54,640 --> 00:37:57,960 Speaker 1: or anything else, you can tweet to us at s 624 00:37:58,040 --> 00:38:00,960 Speaker 1: y ESK Podcast. You can join us on Facebook dot com, 625 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:03,160 Speaker 1: slash stuff you Should Know. You can send us an 626 00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:06,760 Speaker 1: email to Stuff Podcast to how stuff Works dot com 627 00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:08,680 Speaker 1: and has always joined us at home on the web, 628 00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:15,960 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know dot com. For more on this 629 00:38:16,160 --> 00:38:18,680 Speaker 1: and thousands of other topics, is it how stuff Works 630 00:38:18,680 --> 00:38:26,400 Speaker 1: dot com