Atlantic Ocean: currents and their characteristics

The Atlantic Ocean, the currents of which are known all over the world, hides many secrets. It is rich in cold and warm water layers, which will be discussed below.

The most powerful current in the northern hemisphere is the Gulf Stream. At first, scientists thought that it originated in the Gulf of Mexico. This is what caused its name, which means "flow from the Gulf". Later it was proved that only part of this flow leaves the Gulf of Mexico. The main current originates from the Sargasso Sea near the Atlantic shores of North America. Reaching the named ocean, the Gulf Stream deviates to the left, instead of shifting in another direction, according to the influence of the Earth's rotation.

The Antilles Current

The Antilles Current together with Florida is a continuation of the Gulf Stream. It flows in the north from the famous Bahamas. All of them are warm currents. The Atlantic Ocean receives the Antilles water column as a result of the northern equatorial flow and under the influence of Coriolis forces. The maximum speed is 2 km / h. The temperature does not exceed 28 ° C in summer and 25 ° C in winter.

North and South Circuit Current

The southern current moves from Africa to America. In the region of one of the capes it crosses, it is divided into two branches. One of them moves towards the north-west, where it changes its name to the Guiana current, and the second (named Brazilian) moves south-west, touching Cape Horn. In parallel with the second is the Falkland water flow.

The northern boundary of the Northern Trade Wind has conditional features, while in the south the separation is more noticeable. The stream begins near Cape Zeleny, or rather, from its western side. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the current becomes more calm and cold, so it changes its name to the Antilles.

These two moving streams of water are warm currents. The Atlantic Ocean is rich in such strata in its water area. The rest will be considered further.

Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream is a very powerful and extensive current affecting the climate of the Americas and the European continent. The water velocity on its surface is 2.5 meters per second. The depth reaches 800 m, and the width is up to 120 km. On the surface, the water temperature reaches 25-27 degrees Celsius, but at medium depth it does not exceed 12 ° C. Every second this flow moves 75 million tons of water, which is tens of times greater than the mass carried by all the rivers of the Earth.

Moving to the northeast, the Gulf Stream reaches the Barents Sea. Here, its waters cool and go to the south, forming the Greenland Current. Then it again deviates to the west and merges with the Gulf Stream.

North Atlantic Current

The North Atlantic is second in importance in such a pond as the Atlantic Ocean. The currents that depart from the Gulf Stream are striking in their characteristics, and this is not an exception. It carries up to 40 million cubic meters of water in one second. Together with other Atlantic currents, the name has a significant impact on the weather of Europe. The Gulf Stream could not provide such a mild climate to the continents alone, because its warm waters pass far enough from their shores.

Guinea Current

Atlantic Ocean - currents that constantly circulate in the water area. Guinea waters pass from the western part to the eastern part. A bit later they turn to the south. As a rule, the average water temperature is not more than 28 ^o C. Speed in most cases does not exceed 44 km / day, although there are days when this figure reaches 88 km / day.

Equatorial Current

The Atlantic Ocean has a powerful countercurrent. The currents that form it are famous for their warm waters and relatively calm nature. Equatorial circulation is observed not only in the Atlantic, but also in the waters of the Tikhgo and the Indian Oceans. For the first time the mention of it appeared in the XIX century. The main difference between the counterflow is that it moves in the opposite direction of the wind and other circulations in the middle of a certain water area.

The course of Lomonosov

The Atlantic Ocean ( there are also cold currents here) is the second longest water area in the world. In 1959, the so-called Lomonosov circulation was discovered. It is named so in honor of the vessel on which scientists for the first time crossed the water data. The average depth is 150 meters. Since it is a question of cold flow, it is necessary to clarify the information on the temperature regime - here most often 20 ° C is observed.

Sea currents

The article indicates some of the water circulation, to which the Atlantic Ocean is rich. Sea currents can arise during the operating forces, which, firstly, create, and, secondly, change the speed and direction of the streams. Their formation is strongly influenced by relief, coastline and depth.