- Equatorial currents. At the Equator the currents are for the most part directed toward the west, the North Equatorial Current in the Northern Hemisphere and the South Equatorial Current in the Southern Hemisphere. …
- The subtropical gyres. …
- The subpolar gyres.
What are 2 types of ocean currents?
There are two main types of ocean currents:
currents driven mainly by wind and currents mainly driven by density differences
. Density depends on temperature and salinity of the water. Cold and salty water is dense and will sink.
What are the two parts of deep ocean currents?
In general, wind-driven
currents
dominate the upper
ocean
, and thermohaline
circulation
drives the movement of the
deep ocean
.
What are deep currents called?
The winds pull surface water with them, creating currents. … In contrast to wind-driven surface currents, deep-ocean currents are caused by differences in water density. The process that creates deep currents is called
thermohaline circulation
—“thermo” referring to temperature and “haline” to saltiness.
What are the 2 currents?
The two basic types of currents –
surface and deep-water currents
– help define the character and flow of ocean waters across the planet.
What’s a deep current?
Deep currents, also known as thermohaline circulation,
result from differences in water density
. These currents occur when cold, dense water at the poles sinks. Surface water flows to replace sinking water, causing a conveyor belt-like effect of water circulating around the globe on a 1000-year journey.
What is a gyre how many major gyres are on the earth?
Ocean gyres are large system of circular ocean currents formed by global wind patterns and forces created by Earth’s rotation. The
five
major circulation patterns formed by the currents on this map are the world’s five major ocean gyres: North Atlantic, South Atlantic, Indian, North Pacific, and South Pacific.
What is the ocean current called?
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.
What is the name of the largest ocean current?
Notorious among sailors for its strength and the rough seas it creates,
the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC)
is the largest wind-driven current on Earth and the only ocean current to travel all the way around the planet.
Which is the current of Pacific Ocean?
The North Pacific Current (sometimes referred to as the North Pacific Drift)
is a slow warm water current that flows west-to-east between 30 and 50 degrees north in the Pacific Ocean. The current forms the southern part of the North Pacific Subpolar Gyre and the northern part of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.
Is there current underwater?
There are two distinct current systems in the ocean—surface circulation, which stirs a relatively thin upper layer of the sea, and
deep circulation, which sweeps
along the deep-sea floor. … These currents move water masses through the deep ocean—taking nutrients, oxygen, and heat with them.
How fast are deep sea currents?
“Whereas speeds of surface currents can reach as high as 250 cm/sec (98 in/sec, or 5.6 mph) a maximum for the Gulf Stream, speeds of deep currents vary from
2 to 10 cm/sec (0.8 to 4 in/sec) or less
.”
Which is cold ocean current?
The cold current among the following given options is
Labrador Current
. This Labrador Current flows in the North Atlantic Ocean. The cold current flows till the Labrador coast from the Arctic Ocean. This cold wave also meets the warm waves that are moving and outward in Gulf Stream.
Which current is the densest?
The densest deep water mass is formed in
the Weddell Sea of Antarctica
, and becomes the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). Similar processes in the North Atlantic produce the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) in the Greenland Sea (Figure 9.8.
What causes deep sea currents?
Deep ocean currents
When
ocean water freezes, forming sea ice
, salt is left behind causing surrounding seawater to become saltier and denser. Dense-cold-salty water sinks to the ocean bottom. Surface water flows in to replace the sinking water, which in turn becomes cold and salty enough to sink.
What is the difference between surface and deep currents?
Surface ocean currents can occur on local and global scales and are typically wind-driven, resulting in both horizontal and vertical water movement. … Deep ocean currents are density-driven and
differ from surface currents in scale, speed, and energy
.
