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.
Now practice related questions and see what you learnt?
☞ Ocean Currents GK Questions and Answers 🔗
Read also:
- World Oceans Name 🔗
- Gulfs of And Their Sources 🔗
- Major Seaports of India, associated River/Sea and States 🔗
Ocean Currents FAQs:
This is a cold stream. It is actually an extended southern part of the North Atlantic Current. Later on, this current joins the equatorial current. Labrador Current: This is also a current of cold water that originates in Baffin Bay and joins the Gulf Stream near New Found Land.
The Peru current is related to the ocean current "El Nino" effect. The Piru Current is an ocean current of cold water flowing in the Pacific Ocean, which flows from south to north along the west coast of South America.
The Gulf Stream is a warm, fast and narrow ocean current known as the Western Limit Current. It is a powerful and relatively narrow current that flows along the east coast of North America into the western Atlantic Ocean.
The name of the cold ocean current passing through the coast of North America is "Labrador Current". This current is found in the North Atlantic Ocean and flows starting from the Labrador coasts of northern Canada touching the North American coasts.
Meghna is a Mahanadi which is found in Bangladesh. It is the confluence of the insular Brahmaputra River and the Ganges River. It is often referred to as Triveni Sangam, as it meets at Triveni, where all these three rivers meet.