Question

Ocean currents have an affect on which two things?

Answer 1

Answer:

Ocean currents have an effect on climate and wind patterns.

Explanation:

Ocean currents have a very big influence, especially on coastal areas and islands. The biggest effects they have are on the climate and wind patterns. The reason why they have a big influence on the climate is because of the properties of the water to cool off and warm up slower than land, but also because of the temperature of ocean currents, and the type of air masses that move above them.

The ocean currents and winds they bring in, tend to have two, very different effects on climate. When the ocean currents are warm, the air masses above them have a lot of humidity, so they make coastal areas and islands very wet, and if they are further away from the Equator, warmer than what would be expected by their latitude (the British Isles being a good example). On the other hand, cold ocean currents have very dry and dense air masses above them. This results in bringing in lower temperatures and a drier climate, sometimes to extremes when it comes to dryness (a good example is the Atacama Desert).