How Well Do You Know Ocean Currents?

Ocean Currents: A Summary

• Ocean currents are directed movements of seawater generated by various forces, including wind, the Coriolis effect, waves, temperature, and salinity differences.
• Ocean currents primarily move horizontally, flow for great distances, and create the global conveyor belt, which plays a dominant role in determining Earth's climate.
• The Gulf Stream and the Humboldt Current are examples of how warm and cold currents, respectively, influence the temperature of the regions through which they travel.
• Surface and deep-water currents are the two basic types of currents that help define the character and flow of ocean waters across the planet.
• Ocean dynamics define and describe the motion of water within the oceans, and ocean currents are measured in units of sverdrup (sv) and meters per second (m/s) or knots.
• Surface ocean currents make up only 8% of all water in the ocean and are driven by wind currents, which are also influenced by the Coriolis effect.
• Deep ocean currents are driven by density and temperature gradients and are part of the large-scale ocean circulation known as the thermohaline circulation or the ocean's conveyor belt.
• The thermohaline circulation is driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and freshwater fluxes and has a large impact on Earth's climate.
• Ocean currents are distributed across the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern oceans and form gyres.
• Ocean currents are important in the study of marine debris, affect temperatures throughout the world, and play a decisive role in influencing the climates of regions through which they flow.
• Cold ocean water currents bring in a lot of plankton that are crucial to the continued survival of several key sea creature species in marine ecosystems.
• Knowledge of surface ocean currents is essential in reducing shipping costs and is also important for wind-powered sailing ships and marine power generation.