Movement of Ocean Waters

The ocean water is dynamic in nature. It is influenced by physical properties such as temperature, salinity, density etc. and also affected by external factors or forces from Sun, Moon and winds. The major movements of ocean waters are Ocean Currents, Deep Water Currents & Tides.

• Ocean Currents: Flow of oceanic water in one direction. Ocean currents are mainly surface currents or deep-water currents.

Surface Currents: It is primarily wind driven and move horizontally. Solar radiation, gravity and Earth's rotations also influence them. 

Based on temperature, ocean currents can be classified into two.

1. Warm currents and
2.  Cold currents

Warm Currents: They carry warm waters from the tropics to the cold polar regions. They are usually seen at the western boundary of oceans. These are fast moving, narrow and deep currents, thus known as 'Western Boundary Currents'.

E.g. Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean, Agulhas Current in the Indian Ocean and Kuroshio Current in the Pacific Ocean.

Cold Currents: They carry cold water from the poles to the tropics. Labrador Current in the Atlantic Ocean, Peru Current in the Pacific Ocean and the West Australian Current in the Indian Ocean are some of them.

• Blanket of Europe: Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic Ocean is the world's fastest current (more than 2m/s). It carries warm water towards north and keeps Europe warm during winter.

• Black Current: Kuroshio Current in North Pacific is referred as 'Black Current' due to its dark water and low biological productivity.

• The mightiest current: The mightiest current of the oceans is the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, also known as ACC. It is the only current that flows completely around the globe. It encircles the Antarctic Continent and flows eastward through the southern part of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. This current is also known as 'West Wind Drift'.

Note: Contents published here has been taken from various sources for reference purpose. Readers are requested to do their own study before using them in any medium.