List of major ocean currents in the world:

What are ocean currents called?

The continuous and directed flow of water of the ocean is called Ocean Current. In fact, ocean currents are warm or cold rivers flowing inside the oceans. It is often rumored that the water in the oceans remains stable, but in reality it is not so. The water of the ocean flows continuously at a regular speed and different forms of these currents are seen. The main drift currents and stream currents are in natural current. A stream current has certain limits, whereas a carrying current does not have a specific limit to the flow of current.

Types of streams
There are generally two types of ocean currents - warm water currents and cold water currents. Warm water currents are those currents that flow from low tropical latitudes to high temperate and sub-polar latitudes.

Reasons for the origin of ocean currents:

There are mainly three reasons for the formation of ocean current - firstly, the amount of salt in water changes from one place to another, so the density of ocean water also changes with location. Currents are formed due to the natural tendency of matter in which they move towards a region of higher density. In the second reason, the sun's rays do not fall uniformly on the surface of the water.

Due to this, there is a disparity in the temperature of the water. Due to this, convection current is created. The third reason is the strong winds blowing over the surface of the ocean. They also have the ability to create waves in water. These waves are also produced by the orbit of the earth. Due to this rotation, clockwise currents are formed in the northern part of the Earth.

Thus the main reasons are as follows:

  • Earth's rotation
  • Wind
  • Temperature difference of different places
  • Difference in salinity of water at different places
  • Moon's gravity

Many currents flow on the earth. The Gulf Stream is the most important of all. The water in this stream becomes blue and warm. It flows from the north of the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. This is the reason that London and Paris are less cold while the Norwegian coast is snow-free throughout the year.

Apart from this, Brazil Current, Japan, North Equator, North Pacific Ocean waves etc. are counted among the major ocean currents of the world.

List of major ocean currents of the world:-

Ocean currents Ocean Nature
Gulf Stream Atlantic Ocean Warm
North Atlantic Current North Atlantic Current (NAC) North Atlantic Ocean Warm
Canary Current North Atlantic Ocean Cold
Labrador Current North Atlantic Ocean Cold
Alaska Current North Pacific Ocean Warm
Kuroshio Current North Pacific Ocean Warm
North Pacific Ocean Currents North Pacific Ocean Warm
Brazil Current South Atlantic Ocean Warm
Benguela Current South Atlantic Ocean Hot and cold
East Australian Current South Pacific Ocean Warm
Humboldt Current South Pacific Ocean Cold
West wind current South Pacific Ocean Cold
Yashio Current north pacific ocean Cold
West Australian Current West indian ocean Cold
Equatorial current Pacific Ocean Warm
California Current Pacific Ocean Cold
Agulhas Current Indian ocean Warm

Effects of Ocean Currents:

  • Ocean currents affect branch activities directly and indirectly.
  • Ocean currents significantly modify the climate of the coastal parts. Their maximum effect is at the high level of temperature in the coastal areas.
  • Warm currents reach the cooler parts and keep the coast relatively warm in winter.
  • The North Atlantic branch of the Gulf Stream raises the temperature of European (coastal) countries.
  • Due to the passing of cold currents, the temperature of the route is greatly reduced, due to which snowfall conditions arise.
  • Rain is also caused by winds blowing over warm currents. Water currents also play an important role in the heat balance on Earth.
  • Fog occurs when cold and hot water currents meet, which hinders the operation of the ship.
  • At the same time, along with the oxygen and nutrients necessary for fish, plankton is also transported by the water currents, which encourages fishing.
  • Commercial ships are transported by ocean currents.
  • Due to the warm currents, the ports of cold regions are open throughout the year.

  Last update :  Fri 14 Oct 2022
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