circles, called gyres, in all oceans.The climate of the ocean does not vary much throughout the seasonaly changes. it doesnot change because water does not heat up or cool down quickly. The ocean carrieswarm and cool currents that heat or cool the land it goes by. For example, Hawaii iswarm due to the warm currents that are being swept onto the land which ir surrounds. The circulation patterns in the open ocean are horizontal ocean currents that affect theupper surface waters, but the verticle circulation of open ocean water masses may be moreimportant for marine life. There are 2 types of vertical circulation of ocean water masses: Upwelling and thermohaline. In upwelling, deep ocean water rich in dissolved nutrientsmoves up the continental slope into costal surface waters, aided by offshore wind patterns. The nutrient-rich waters encourage the growth of plankton, which serves as the base forthe food chain throughout the oceans. In the thermohaline circulation, differences in thetemperature, density, and salinity of ocean water masses cause the nutrient-rich deepocean water to rise and mix with surface waters. Thermohaline circulation is restricted topolar regions of the northern and southern hemispheres....
