|
An ocean current is any more or less continuous, directed movement of ocean water that flows in one of the Earth's oceans. Ocean Currents are rivers of hot or cold water within the ocean. The currents are generated from the forces acting upon the water like the earth's rotation, the wind, the temperature and salinity differences and the gravitation of the moon. The depth contours, the shoreline and other currents influence the current's direction and strength. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1081x768, 1223 KB) Ocean currents. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1081x768, 1223 KB) Ocean currents. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2639x1406, 582 KB) Ocean Currents and Sea Ice from Atlas of World Maps. ...
Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2639x1406, 582 KB) Ocean Currents and Sea Ice from Atlas of World Maps. ...
Animated map exhibiting the worlds oceanic waters. ...
Annual mean sea surface salinity for the World Ocean. ...
An isopycnal is a surface of constant water density. ...
This article is about tides in the Earths oceans. ...
Bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to topography. ...
Shore A shore or shoreline is the land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. ...
Important currents Ocean currents can flow for thousands of kilometers. They are very important in determining the climates of the continents, especially those regions bordering on the ocean. Perhaps the most striking example is the Gulf Stream, which makes northwest Europe much more temperate than any other region at the same latitude. Another example is the Hawaiian Islands, where the climate is somewhat cooler (sub-tropical) than the tropical latitudes in which they are located because of the California Current. A current is a movement or flow of fluids, especially water in a river or ocean. ...
Animated, colour-coded map showing the various continents. ...
For the album by Ocean Colour Scene, see North Atlantic Drift (album) The Gulf Stream is orange and yellow in this representation of water temperatures of the Atlantic. ...
For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ...
Map of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of islands that stretches 2,400 km in a northwesterly direction from the southern tip of the Island of Hawaii. ...
The California Current is a Pacific Ocean current that moves south along the western coast of North America, beginning off southern British Columbia, and ending off southern Baja California. ...
Background Surface ocean currents are generally wind driven and develop their typical clockwise spirals in the northern hemisphere and counter-clockwise rotation in the southern hemisphere because of the imposed wind stresses. In wind driven currents, the Ekman spiral effect results in the currents flowing at an angle to the driving winds. The areas of surface ocean currents move somewhat with the seasons; this is most notable in equatorial currents. Ekman spiral effect. ...
This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...
Deep ocean currents are driven by density and temperature gradients. Thermohaline circulation, also known as the ocean's conveyor belt, refers to the deep ocean density-driven ocean basin currents. These currents, which flow under the surface of the ocean and are thus hidden from immediate detection, are called submarine rivers. These are currently being researched by a fleet of underwater robots called Argo. Upwelling and downwelling areas in the oceans are areas where significant vertical movement of ocean water is observed. A simplified summary of the path of the Thermohaline Circulation. ...
Oceanic basin can also refer to the river basins flowing into an ocean. ...
Argo is a network of oceanic robotic probes coverig the Earths oceans, with a total of 3000 probes planned. ...
Upwelling is an oceanographic phenomenon that involves wind-driven motion of dense, cooler, and usually nutrient-rich water towards the ocean surface, replacing the warmer, usually nutrient-depleted surface water. ...
Downwelling is the process of accumulation and sinking of higher density material beneath lower density material, such as cold or saline water beneath warmer or fresher water or cold air beneath warm air. ...
Surface currents make up about 10% of all the water in the ocean. Surface currents are generally restricted to the upper 400 meters of the ocean. The movement of deep water in the ocean basins is by density driven forces and gravity. The density difference is a function of different temperatures and salinity. Deep waters sink into the deep ocean basins at high latitudes where the temperatures are cold enough to cause the density to increase. The main causes of currents are: solar heating, winds and gravity.
Ocean currents are measured in Sverdrup with the symbol Sv, where 1 Sv is equivalent to a volume flow rate of 106 cubic meters per second. The sverdrup, named in honour of the pioneering oceanographers Harald and Otto Sverdrup, is an unit of measure of volume transport. ...
Ocean Currents The movement of ocean water, together with the interacting atmosphere, is driven by solar energy. The continuous flow of water along a definite path in the ocean is called ocean current. The circulation of water may be explained by some principal factors that influence it.
Significance to people and sea life Knowledge of surface ocean currents is essential in reducing costs of shipping, since they reduce fuel costs. In the sail-ship era knowledge was even more essential. A good example of this is the Agulhas current, which long prevented Portuguese sailors from reaching India. Even today, the round-the-world sailing competitors employ surface currents to their benefit.
Ocean currents are also very important in the dispersal of many life forms. A dramatic example is the life-cycle of the eel. Juvenile eels Leptocephalus larvae of an ocean eel The story of the eel was a mystery for a long time and many questions still remain. ...
Important currents The East Greenland Current originates in the Arctic Ocean and brings cold, low salinity, Southbound water along the East Coast of Greenland. ...
The Norwegian Current is warm water current that north-easterly along the Atlantic coast of Norway. ...
Angola current is a temporary ocean surface current. ...
The Antilles Current is a warm water current that flows northwesterly past the island chain that separates the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. ...
Baffin Island Current (or Baffin Current) is an ocean current running south down the western side of Baffin Bay in the Arctic Ocean, along Baffin Island. ...
The frigid waters of the north-flowing Benguela current move from the Southern Ocean that surrounds Antarctica along the west coast of Africa as far as Angola. ...
The Brazil Current is a warm water current that flows southward along the Brazilian south coast to the mouth of the River Plate. ...
The Canary Current branches south from the North Atlantic Current and flows toward the South West about as far as Senegal where it turns West. ...
The Cape Horn Current is a cold water current that flows west-to-east around Cape Horn. ...
The Caribbean Current is a warm water current that flows into the Caribbean Sea from the east along the coast of South America. ...
The East Greenland Current originates in the Arctic Ocean and brings cold, low salinity, Southbound water along the East Coast of Greenland. ...
The Falkland Current is a cold water current that flows northward along the Atlantic coast of Patagonia as far north as the mouth of the River Plate. ...
For the album by Ocean Colour Scene, see North Atlantic Drift (album) The Gulf Stream is orange and yellow in this representation of water temperatures of the Atlantic. ...
The Guinea Current is a slow warm water current that flows easterly along the Guinea coast of West Africa. ...
The Labrador Current is a cold current in the north Atlantic Ocean which flows from the Arctic Ocean south along the coast of Labrador and passes around Newfoundland, continuing south along the east coast of Nova Scotia. ...
Schematic of the worlds ocean currents. ...
North Brazil Currents is a term of the complexion of Atlantic Southern equatorial current and the Atlantic equatorial counter current, Guinea current. ...
The Norwegian Current is warm water current that north-easterly along the Atlantic coast of Norway. ...
The Portugal Current is a weak warm water current that flows south-easterly towards the coast of Portugal. ...
South Atlantic Current is a name used of the Atlantic northern parts of the West Wind Drift. ...
Spitsbergen current is the northernmost part of the North Atlantic Current. ...
The West Greenland Current is a weak cold water current that flows to the north along the west coast of Greenland. ...
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica. ...
The Alaska Current is a warm-water eddie current resulting from the northward diversion of a portion of the North Pacific Current when that current meets the west coast of the North American continent. ...
Aleutian current - also called subarctic current. ...
The California Current is a Pacific Ocean current that moves south along the western coast of North America, beginning off southern British Columbia, and ending off southern Baja California. ...
The Cromwell current (also called Pacific Equatorial Undercurrent or just Equatorial Undercurrent) is a submarine river: A particular kind of ocean current that is, in effect, a river flowing under the surface of an ocean. ...
East Australian Current on August 17, 2005 The East Australian Current (EAC) flows north-to-south along the east coast of Australia. ...
The Equatorial Counter Current is a significant current in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans that flows west-to-east at approximately five degrees north. ...
...
The Kamchatka Current (Also known as the Oyayisho current) is a cold-water current flowing south-westward from the Bering Strait, along the Siberian Pacific coast and the Kamchatka Peninsula. ...
The Kuroshio Current is an ocean current found in the western Pacific Ocean off the east coast of Taiwan and flowing northeastward past Japan, where it merges with the easterly drift of the North Pacific Current. ...
The North Equatorial Current is a significant Pacific and Atlantic Ocean current that flows east-to-west between the equator and 10° north. ...
The North Pacific Current The North Pacific Current (sometimes referred to as the North Pacific Drift) is a slow warm water current that flows west-to-east between 40 and 50 degrees north in the Pacific Ocean. ...
The South Equatorial Current is a significant Pacific Ocean current that flows east-to-west between the equator and 10 degrees south. ...
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica. ...
The Agulhas Current is the Western Boundary Current of the South-West Indian Ocean and is part of the westward-flowing South Equatorial Current. ...
The East Madagascar Current is an oceanic flow feature near Madagascar. ...
The Equatorial Counter Current is a significant current in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans that flows west-to-east at approximately five degrees north. ...
Area of Indonesian Through-flow Indonesian Through-flow is a term which is used of the complex and varied movements of ocean waters between Pacific and Indian Oceans, which happens mainly in Indonesia. ...
Leeuwin Current is a warm ocean current which flows southwards near the coast of western Australia, It rounds Cape Leeuwin to enter the waters south of Australia. ...
Madagaskar current is an ocean current that flows northwards near the western coast of Madagaskar , and it is the only current which sailors can employ on trips from southern Africa to India. ...
The Mozambique Current is an ocean current in the Indian Ocean, usually defined as warm surface waters flowing south between the African east coast in the vicinity of Mozambique and the island of Madagascar. ...
The South Equatorial Current is a significant Pacific Ocean current that flows east-to-west between the equator and 10 degrees south. ...
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica. ...
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica. ...
Weddell Gyre is such water movement in Southern Ocean, which is not part of the west wind drift. ...
The Tasman Outflow is the most recently discovered of the worlds major ocean currents. ...
See also Hydrothermal circulation in the oceans is the passage of the water through mid-ocean Ridge (MOR) systems. ...
A simplified summary of the path of the Thermohaline Circulation. ...
This page meets Wikipedias criteria for speedy deletion. ...
An oceanographic water mass is an identifiable body of water which has physical properties distinct from surrounding water. ...
The Draupner wave, a single giant wave measured on New Years Day 1995, finally confirmed the existence of freak waves, which had previously been considered near-mythical Rogue waves, also known as freak waves, or extreme waves, are relatively large and spontaneous ocean surface waves which are a threat...
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ocean currents |
Feeds |
Contact