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
Big freeze plunged Europe into ice age in months
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 30, 2009 |
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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.
Aquatic creatures mix ocean water
Nov 22, 2009 |
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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, ...
New discoveries could improve climate projections
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 11, 2009 |
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New discoveries about the deep ocean's temperature variability and circulation system could help improve projections of future climate conditions.
Understanding ocean climate
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 10, 2009 |
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High-resolution computer simulations performed by scientists at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS) are helping to understand the inflow of North Atlantic water to the Arctic Ocean and how ...
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Oceans' Uptake of Manmade Carbon May Be Slowing
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 09, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The oceans play a key role in regulating climate, absorbing more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide that humans put into the air. Now, the first year-by-year accounting of this mechanism ...
Cyclone Cleo has reached its maximum wind speed
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 09, 2009 |
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NASA Satellites noticed that Tropical Cyclone Cleo had reached its maximum strength, and was now moving into areas that will weaken it. Cleo's maximum sustained winds were near 115 mph (100 knots), with gusts ...
NASA's TRMM satellite sees Tropical Storm Cleo form in southern Indian Ocean
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 08, 2009 |
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The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite captured the birth of Tropical Storm Cleo in the southern Indian Ocean today, December 7.
System 97W's 'castle wall' breached, and opened up to dissipation
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 04, 2009 |
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The "walls" of System 97W have been breached, and residents in the Western Pacific Ocean no longer have a tropical cyclone to worry about today. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center cancelled their "formation ...
NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites see Nida fading, and 97W getting organized
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 03, 2009 |
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NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites flew over Tropical Depression Nida and System 97W in the Western Pacific Ocean and noticed that one is fading while the other is powering up.
First comprehensive review of the state of Antarctica's climate
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Dec 01, 2009 |
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The first comprehensive review of the state of Antarctica's climate and its relationship to the global climate system is published this week by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). The review - Antarctic ...
Climate change in Kuwait Bay
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 30, 2009 |
3.7 / 5 (13) |
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Since 1985, seawater temperature in Kuwait Bay, northern Arabian Gulf, has increased on average 0.6°C per decade. This is about three times faster than the global average rate reported by the Intergovernmental ...
Oceans absorbing carbon dioxide more slowly, scientist finds
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 24, 2009 |
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The world's oceans are absorbing less carbon dioxide (CO2), a Yale geophysicist has found after pooling data taken over the past 50 years. With the oceans currently absorbing over 40 percent of the CO2 emitted by human activity, ...
Paleontologists find extinction rates higher in open-ocean settings during mass extinctions
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Nov 19, 2009 |
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Arnie Miller, University of Cincinnati professor of paleontology in the McMicken College of Arts & Sciences, and co-author Michael Foote of the University of Chicago publish their research in the Nov. 20 issue ...
SMOS satellite instrument comes alive (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 19, 2009 |
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The MIRAS instrument on ESA's SMOS satellite, launched earlier this month, has been switched on and is operating normally. MIRAS will map soil moisture and ocean salinity to improve our understanding of the ...
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