Intriguing Information About Ocean Currents

The continuous movement of either hot or cold ocean water is known as an ocean current. Some factors that affect this movement are the rotation of the planet, temperature, the wind, and the gravitation pull of the moon. The direction and the strength of an ocean current is influenced by the shoreline and the depth contours of the ocean.

The important currents of the Arctic Ocean are the East Greenland Current, Norwegian Current, Beaufort Gyre, and the Transpolar Drift.

There are over twenty important currents in the Atlantic Ocean. A few of them are Antilles Current, Brazil Current, Caribbean Current, Falkland Current, Gulf Stream Current, Labrador Current, North Atlantic Current, North Brazil Current, and West Greenland Current.

The Pacific Ocean, one of the largest oceans of the world, has over fifteen different types of currents. Some of them include the Alaska Current, California Current, East Australian Current, Kamchatka Current, North Equatorial Current, Kuroshio Current, South Equatorial Current, and West Wind Drift.

Indian Ocean is the third largest ocean of the world and currents in this ocean include, Madagascar Current, Equatorial Counter Current, West and South Australian Current, and the West Wind Drift.

Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, was recently recognized by the International Hydrographic Organization. Some currents of this ocean include Tasman Outflow, Weddell Gyre and Antarctic Current.

These are two types of currents that are observed in oceans.

Large circular patterns known as "Gyres" are formed at the depth of 400 m in a surface circulation ocean current. In the Northern Hemisphere, gyres flow clockwise and in the Southern Hemisphere, in the anti-clockwise direction. The flow of surface currents is in a regular pattern.

Some are deep and narrow, while there are others that are shallow and wide. An ocean current of surface type can move either quickly or slowly. They are large and carry heat from one place to another, maintaining balance in the marine ecosystem.

The reason is they help in the transport of marine animals from the warmer to colder regions. This type is also considered important by sailors to plan their routes.

Thermohaline circulation current, also known as global ocean conveyor, is a deep ocean current. Cold temperatures and high salinity of the seawater cause deep-water circulation current. The seawater is dense when it contains excess amount of salt. This causes the water to sink to the bottom causing this type of circulation.

To sum up, currents in the ocean are constantly on the move and are affected by the prevailing temperature, the direction of wind, salinity of the water, rotation of the earth and the topography of the ocean bed. The direction of an ocean current is constant and they move only in one direction unlike the tidal currents close to the shores.

These currents carry an immense amount of energy, and this is directly related to the density of water. Many Asian, European, and North American countries are currently conducting studies to make use of the energy that can be harnessed from these currents.