Related topics: gravity field
Ocean current
hideAn ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of ocean water generated by the forces acting upon the water, such as the Earth's rotation, wind, temperature, salinity differences and tides caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun. Depth contours, shoreline configurations and interaction with other currents influence a current's direction and strength.
Ocean currents can flow for thousands of kilometers, and together they create the great flow of the global conveyor belt which plays a dominant part in determining the climate of many of the Earth’s regions. Perhaps the most striking example is the Gulf Stream, which makes northwest Europe much more temperate than any other region at the same latitude. Another example is the Hawaiian Islands, where the climate is cooler (sub-tropical) than the tropical latitudes in which they are located, because of the effect of the California Current.
For more information about Ocean current, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with ocean circulation
Sea Level Rise Due to Global Warming Poses Threat to New York City
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Mar 13, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (138) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Global warming is expected to cause the sea level along the northeastern U.S. coast to rise almost twice as fast as global sea levels during this century, putting New York City at greater ...
Melting Greenland ice sheets may threaten Northeast United States, Canada
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
May 27, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (71) |
18
Melting of the Greenland ice sheet this century may drive more water than previously thought toward the already threatened coastlines of New York, Boston, Halifax, and other cities in the northeastern United ...
Sunlight has more powerful influence on ocean circulation and climate than North American ice sheets
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 06, 2008 |
4.7 / 5 (33) |
11
A study reported in today's issue of Nature disputes a longstanding picture of how ice sheets influence ocean circulation during glacial periods.
Long debate ended over cause, demise of ice ages -- may also help predict future
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Aug 06, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (23) |
63
Researchers have largely put to rest a long debate on the underlying mechanism that has caused periodic ice ages on Earth for the past 2.5 million years - they are ultimately linked to slight shifts in solar radiation caused ...
Two More Earth's Chandler Wobble Jumps Revealed, Last in 2005
Sep 02, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (17) |
5
(PhysOrg.com) -- The Chandler Wobble is a small variation in the rotation of the Earth on its axis. It has been known for some time that the phase of the Chandler Wobble jumped by 180 degrees in the 1920s, ...
Dead Ahead: Similar Early Warning Signals of Change in Climate, Ecosystems, Financial Markets, Human Health
Sep 02, 2009 |
3.8 / 5 (19) |
4
(PhysOrg.com) -- What do abrupt changes in ocean circulation and Earth's climate, shifts in wildlife populations and ecosystems, the global finance market and its system-wide crashes, and asthma attacks and ...
Big freeze plunged Europe into ice age in months
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 30, 2009 |
4 / 5 (17) |
7
In the film, 'The Day After Tomorrow' the world enters the icy grip of a new glacial period within the space of just a few weeks. Now new research shows that this scenario may not be so far from the truth after all.
Oceanic seesaw links Northern and Southern hemisphere during abrupt climate change
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Feb 25, 2009 |
4 / 5 (13) |
8
Very large and abrupt changes in temperature recorded over Greenland and across the North Atlantic during the last Ice Age were actually global in extent, according to an international team of researchers led by Cardiff University.
GOCE delivering data for best gravity map ever (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 30, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (10) |
3
(PhysOrg.com) -- Following the launch and in-orbit testing of the most sophisticated gravity mission ever built, ESA’s GOCE satellite is now in ‘measurement mode’, mapping tiny variations in Earth’s gravity ...
Ecologists use oceanographic data to predict future climate change
Nov 06, 2008 |
3.8 / 5 (12) |
8
Earth scientists are attempting to predict the future impacts of climate change by reconstructing the past behavior of Arctic climate and ocean circulation. In a November special issue of the journal Ecology, a group of sci ...
Research indicates ocean current shutdown may be gradual
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jul 16, 2009 |
3.9 / 5 (7) |
6
The findings of a major new study are consistent with gradual changes of current systems in the North Atlantic Ocean, rather than a more sudden shutdown that could lead to rapid climate changes in Europe and elsewhere.
Mini Gradiometer Could Map Other Planets' Gravity Fields
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Aug 10, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (6) |
1
(PhysOrg.com) -- Although it may seem like gravity is the same everywhere on the Earth, it actually varies a small amount from place to place. Factors such as mountains, ocean trenches, and interior density ...
New look at gravity data sheds light on ocean, climate
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Aug 27, 2009 |
5 / 5 (4) |
1
A discovery about the moon made in the 1960s is helping researchers unlock secrets about Earth's ocean today.
Aquatic creatures mix ocean water
Nov 22, 2009 |
5 / 5 (4) |
1
Understanding mixing in the ocean is of fundamental importance to modeling climate change or predicting the effects of an El Niño on our weather. Modern ocean models primarily incorporate the effects of winds and tides. However, ...
Scientists report first remote, underwater detection of harmful algae, toxins
Jul 14, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
Scientists at NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have successfully conducted the first remote detection of a harmful algal species and its toxin below ...
