Meet the Gyres!
North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre
- North Equatorial Current
- Gulf Stream - the best studied of all the currents. It has meanders or loops which can cut off to form warm-core rings and cold-core rings, each with unique biological populations.
- North Atlantic Current
- Canary Current
- South Equatorial Current
- Atlantic Equatorial Counter Current
- Labrador Current
- Irminger Current
- Norwegian Current
- North Atlantic Current
Other Currents:
Climate effects of North Atlantic currents
Gulf Stream warms East coast of U.S. and Northern Europe, the North Atlantic and Norwegian Currents warm northwestern Europe, the Labrador Current cools eastern Canada, and the Canary Current cools North Africa coast.
South Atlantic Subtropical Gyre
- Brazil Current
- Antarctic Circumpolar Current
- Benguela Current
- South Equatorial Current
North Pacific subtropical gyre
- Kuroshio
- North Pacific Current
- California Current
- North Equatorial Current
- Alaskan Current
South Pacific subtropical gyre
- East Australian Current
- Antarctic Circumpolar Current
- Peru Current
- South Equatorial Current
- Equatorial Counter Current
Indian Ocean subtropical gyre
- Agulhas Current
- North and South Equatorial Currents
- Antarctic Circumpolar Current
- West Australian Current
- Equatorial Countercurrent
- Leeuwin Current
- Monsoon (seasonal) winds (Winds shift from winter to summer)
- Southwest Monsoon Current replaces North Equatorial Current
- Somali Current
Other Currents
Antarctic Circumpolar Current (West Wind Drift)
While not a gyre, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current encircles Earth and transports more water than any other current.
- East Wind Drift - moves counter clockwise
- Antarctic Divergence
- Antarctic Circumpolar Current (West Wind Drift) - moves clockwise
- Antarctic Convergence
When two fluid media (like water) move in opposite directions from one another, turbulence at the boundary results. In the case of the East and West Wind Drifts, the movement between the two and other currents creates upwelling or downwelling conditions.
The East Wind Drift moves counter clockwise in the innermost "ring" around Antarctica while the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (West Wind Drift) moves clockwise in the next "ring" out. The water diverges away from the boundary between these two currents, creating upwelling conditions.
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (West Wind Drift) is moving in the same direction (clockwise) as the water in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian gyres (the southern transverse currents) which creates convergence and downwelling conditions.
So, the waters around Antarctica are moving (from the continent outward) counterclockwise, up, clockwise, down, clockwise, and down again. This makes for very dangerous sailing conditions!
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