|
An ocean current is a current that flows more
or less permanently in one of the Earth's oceans.
Ocean currents may flow for thousands of kilometers. They are very important in determining the climates of the continents bordering on the oceans they flow in.
The most striking example is the Gulf Stream, which makes north-west Europe much more temperate than any other region at the same latitude. However the importance
of currents is also illustrated by the El Niņo effect, in which the temporary
reversal of an ocean current causes devastating climatic change in South
America, whose effects spread as far as Australia.
Currents that flow under the surface of the ocean, and are thus hidden from immediate detection, are called submarine rivers.
Ocean currents are also very important in the dispersal of many life forms. A dramatic example is the life-cycle of the eel.
Important currents include:
- East Greenland Current
- Norwegian
Current
- Labrador Current
- Gulf Stream
- North
Equatorial Current
- South
Equatorial Current
- North Brazil
Current
- Guinea Current
- Angola Current
- Brazil Current
- Benguela Current
- South
Atlantic Current
- Aleutian Current
- Humboldt Current (or Peru Current)
- Kuroshio Current (or
Japan Current)
- North
Equatorial Current
- South
Equatorial Current
- Cromwell current
- Agulhas Current
- East
Madagascar Current
- Somali Current
- Mozambique
Current
- Leeuwin Current
- Indonesian
Through-flow
- North
Equatorial Current
- South
Equatorial Current
- Indian Monsoon
- Antarctic Circumpolar Current
- Weddell Gyre
External link
This article is a stub. You can
help Wikipedia by expanding it .
|