Inquiry

How does the ocean affect the climate and the people who live in the Atlantic region?


The Atlantic region has a continental climate because summers are warm and winters are cold. The climate of the Atlantic region is greatly affected by the mixture of two streams of water, one from the north and the other from the south.  The northern Labrador Current brings cold water from the Arctic, and mixes with the warmer waters of the southern Gulf Stream flowing from the Gulf of Mexico.  The great thing about this is that nutrients brought to the area and an appropriate temperature encouraged the growth of plankton, food loved by fish.
 
Newfoundland & Labrador,  the Atlantic Region of Canada via Pixabay
 

Resources for Inquiry

  1. Textbook
      • Read page 39.

  2. Library Book
      • Maritimes, pages 12 – 13.

  3. Websites
  • Select Culturegrams
  • Click on Provinces Edition.
  • Then, click on each province of the Atlantic region, then on Climate (left side, green box, under ‘the Place’.)


 Skill Builder


Click here to learn how to use Learn Alberta.

  1. Videos
      • Research what the thermohaline current in the Atlantic is like and how it affects weather.  You may be interested in biodiversity of the ocean in the Grand Banks which affects the quality of life of people who fish or live off the sea.





Notebook


Download, save to your Unit 2 Notebook, and complete the Region Climate chart as you research while doing your inquiry.

When you have completed this chart, submit it as an Exit Pass on the following page.