Think of cold currents as currents moving toward the Equator . These waters are colder than the water they are moving into. If you were swimming in the ocean whose temperature was 70 degrees F and you swam into a current whose temperature was 60 degrees F, the sensation would be cold.
What is cold ocean current?
Cold ocean currents are large masses of cold water that move towards the equator , from a level of high altitude to lower levels. They absorb the heat they receive in the tropics, thereby cooling the air above them.
What is the meaning of ocean current?
Ocean currents are the continuous, predictable, directional movement of seawater driven by gravity, wind (Coriolis Effect), and water density . Ocean water moves in two directions: horizontally and vertically. Horizontal movements are referred to as currents, while vertical changes are called upwellings or downwellings.
What are three examples of cold currents?
Examples of cold ocean currents include the Canary Current in the North Atlantic, the California Current in the North Pacific, and the Benguela Current in the South Atlantic . Cold currents can also flow out of far northern regions.
How do you tell if a current is warm or cold?
Look at the patterns of cold and warm currents. What seems to determine whether a current carries warm or cold water? Currents originating in low latitudes near the equator tend to carry warmer water . Currents originating in high latitudes near the north or south pole tend to carry colder water.
What is ocean current in simple words?
An ocean current is any more or less permanent or continuous, directed movement of ocean water that flows in one of the Earth’s oceans . The currents are generated from the forces acting upon the water like the earth’s rotation, the wind, the temperature and salinity differences and the gravitation of the moon.
What are the 3 types of ocean currents?
- The rise and fall of the tides. Tides create a current in the oceans, which are strongest near the shore, and in bays and estuaries along the coast. ...
- Wind. Winds drive currents that are at or near the ocean’s surface. ...
- Thermohaline circulation.
What is the fastest ocean current in the world?
Gulf Stream Velocity . The Gulf Stream is the fastest ocean current in the world with peak velocities near 2m/s. Shown to the left are velocity profiles across the Gulf Stream at the Straits of Florida and Cape Hatteras.
Why is California cold now?
The water along the coast of California is cold for a couple of reasons. First, the California Current brings cold water from Alaska southward along the coast . And second, cold water from the deep ocean comes up to the surface through a process called upwelling. ... The water from the deep ocean is full of nutrients.
Which is an example of cold current?
The prominent example of cold current are the Labrador Ocean current and the East Greenland Current flows .
Is Agulhas current warm or cold?
One of the fastest-flowing currents in any ocean, it reaches an estimated top speed of 5.8 miles (9.3 km) per hour off the southeast coast of South Africa. Because it is fed from lower latitudes, the Agulhas Current is warm , ranging in temperature from 57 to 79 °F (14 to 26 °C) at the surface.
Is California Current warm or cold?
The California Current is a cold water Pacific Ocean current that moves southward along the western coast of North America, beginning off southern British Columbia and ending off southern Baja California Sur.
Where do cold currents originate?
They can be cold, warm, and hot. Warm ocean currents originate near the equator and move towards the poles or higher latitudes while cold currents originate near the poles or higher latitudes and move towards the tropics or lower latitudes. The current’s direction and speed depend on the shoreline and the ocean floor.
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.
Is Oyashio a warm current?
Oyashio (親潮, “Parental Tide”), also known as Oya Siwo, Okhotsk or the Kurile current, is a cold subarctic ocean current that flows south and circulates counterclockwise in the western North Pacific Ocean.
How fast is the California Current?
Schwartzlose: The average speed of the general California Current is about 4 to 4 knot (12.5-25 cm/sec) . Direct measurements, using drogues, which we have made off Monterey, southern California and northern Baja California, indicate that speeds up to a knot (50 cm/sec) can obtain for short periods of time.
