The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica. Lying in the Southern Ocean between the latitudes of 40°S and 60°S, it is the only current that circumnavigates the globe, due to the lack of continental boundaries to disrupt it. As such, the ACC plays a crucial role in the global ocean circulation, connecting the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean basins. An ocean current is any more or less permanent or continuous, directed movement of ocean water that flows in one of the Earths oceans. ... The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of its surface. ... there is no such thing as a southern ocean. ...
It is a cool, dry current, that is arguably the strongest current in the world.
The ACC also contains the Antarctic Circumpolar Wave, a periodic oscillation that affects the climate of much of the southern hemisphere. The Antarctic Circumpolar Wave is a coupled ocean/atmosphere wave that circles the Southern Ocean in approximately eight years. ...
An alternate name for the ACC is the West Wind Drift.
The AntarcticCircumpolarCurrent is an important feature of the ocean's deep circulation because it transports deep and intermediate water between the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean, and because it contributes to the deep circulation in all basins.
As the current crosses ridges such as the Kerguelen Plateau, the Pacific-Antarctic Ridge, and the Drake Passage, it is defected by the ridges.
The core of the current is composed of Circumpolar Deep Water, a mixture of deep water from all oceans.
Feeds |
Contact