Currents of the Atlantic Ocean. Message about the atlantic ocean
The influence of currents on the climate of the Pacific coasts
The influence of currents on climate Atlantic coasts
The influence of the currents of the World Ocean on the climate and vegetation of the continents.
The warm and cold currents of the Atlantic Ocean big influence on the climate of coastal areas. Powerful evaporation in the region of the Gulf Stream, turning into the North Atlantic, leads to the formation of clouds and more humid climate North American coast. Its warming effect affects the climate of the whole of Europe. The cold Labrador Current causes a more severe climate of the Labrador Peninsula compared to the same latitudes in Europe. The cold Canary and Benguela currents have a drying effect on the climate of the western coast of Africa in tropical latitudes, where deserts are located.
Currents have a significant impact on the climate of the Pacific coasts. The climate of the western and eastern territories, located at approximately the same latitude, but affected by different currents is very different. So the Pacific coast of Canada, washed by the warm North Pacific current, is distinguished by denser vegetation than the coast of Kamchatka, washed by the cold Kuril current. Eastern slopes of the Bolshoi Dividing Range in Australia they are washed by the warm East Australian current, as a result of which they are covered with forests, and in the west South America is the most arid desert Atacama, because The coast is washed by the cold Peruvian Current. Desert landscapes are also visible on the coast, washed by the waters of the cold California Current.
Cold currents (California, Peru, Benguela and Canary) passing by western coasts continents in tropical latitudes, prevent the evaporation of moisture from the surface of the ocean and thereby contribute to the formation of deserts.
The influence of currents on the climate of the coasts of the Indian Ocean.
The monsoons of the northern Indian Ocean have a huge impact on the climate. These currents change throughout the year, due to monsoon winds. The Samali current is cold in summer and flows towards India, and vice versa in winter.
The cold current of the westerly winds passing through all the oceans also has a huge impact on the climate. This current does not allow the melting of the glaciers of Antarctica.
Surface currents in the North Atlantic Ocean move clockwise. The main elements of this big system are the warm current of the Gulf Stream directed to the north, as well as the North Atlantic, Canary and Northern Equatorial (Equatorial) currents. The Gulf Stream follows from the Strait of Florida and the island of Cuba in a northerly direction along the coast of the United States and approximately 40 N. latitude. deviates to the northeast, changing its name to the North Atlantic Current. This current divides into two branches, one of which follows the northeast along the coast of Norway and further into the Arctic Ocean. The second branch turns south and further southwest along the coast of Africa, forming the cold Canary Current. This current moves to the southwest and joins the North Equatorial Current, which heads west towards the West Indies, where it merges with the Gulf Stream. To the north of the North Equatorial Current is an area of stagnant water, abundant in algae and known as Sargasso Sea. Along the North Atlantic coast North America from north to south the cold Labrador Current flows from Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea and cools the coast of New England.
The main current systems in the South Atlantic move counterclockwise. The South Tradewind current is directed to the west. At the ledge east coast Brazil, it is divided into two branches: the northern one carries water along the northern coast of South America to the Caribbean, and the southern, warm Brazilian current, moves south along the coast of Brazil and joins the West Winds current, or Antarctic, which heads east and then to northeast. Part of this cold current separates and carries its waters north along the African coast, forming the cold Benguela Current; the latter eventually joins the South Equatorial Current. The warm Guinea Current moves south along the coast of Northwest Africa to the Gulf of Guinea.
The direction of the currents is influenced by the force of the Earth's rotation: in the Northern Hemisphere, the currents move to the right, in the Southern - to the left.
The current is called warm if its temperature is warmer than the temperature of the surrounding waters, otherwise, the current is called cold.
Density currents are caused by pressure differences that result from uneven distribution of seawater density. Density currents are formed in the deep layers of the seas and oceans. A striking example of density currents is the warm Gulf Stream.
Wind currents are formed under the action of winds, as a result of the friction forces of water and air, turbulent viscosity, pressure gradient, deflecting forces of the Earth's rotation, and some other factors. Wind currents are always superficial. Northern and South Trade winds, Western Winds, Intertrade Pacific and Atlantic.
1) Gulf Stream - a warm sea current in the Atlantic Ocean. In a broad sense, the Gulf Stream is a system of warm currents in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean from Florida to the Scandinavian Peninsula, Svalbard, Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean.
Thanks to the Gulf Stream, the countries of Europe adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean have a milder climate than other regions at the same geographical latitude: masses of warm water heat the air above them, which is transferred to Europe by westerly winds. Deviations of air temperature from average latitude values in January reach 15–20 °C in Norway, and more than 11 °C in Murmansk.
2) Peruvian current - cold surface current in pacific ocean. Moves from south to north between 4° and 45° south latitude along the western coasts of Peru and Chile.
3) The Canary Current is a cold and, subsequently, moderately warm sea current in the northeastern part of the Atlantic Ocean. Directed from north to south along the Iberian Peninsula and Northwest Africa as a branch of the North Atlantic Current.
4) The Labrador Current is a cold sea current in the Atlantic Ocean, flowing between the coast of Canada and Greenland and rushing south from the Baffin Sea to the Newfoundland Bank. There it meets the Gulf Stream.
5) The North Atlantic Current is a powerful warm ocean current that is the northeastern continuation of the Gulf Stream. Starts at the Great Newfoundland Bank. West of Ireland, the current is divided into two parts. One branch (the Canary Current) runs south and the other north along the coast of northwestern Europe. The current is believed to have a significant influence on the climate in Europe.
6) The cold California Current emerges from the North Pacific Current, moves along the coast of California from the northwest to the southeast, merges in the south with the North Tradewind Current.
7) Kuroshio, sometimes the Japan Current - a warm current off the southern and eastern coasts of Japan in the Pacific Ocean.
8) The Kuril current or Oyashio is a cold current in the northwest Pacific Ocean, which originates in the waters of the Arctic Ocean. In the south, near the Japanese Islands, it merges with Kuroshio. It flows along Kamchatka, the Kuriles and the Japanese islands.
9) The North Pacific Current is a warm ocean current in the North Pacific Ocean. It is formed as a result of the confluence of the Kuril Current and Kuroshio. Moves from the Japanese islands to the shores of North America.
10) Brazilian current - a warm current of the Atlantic Ocean off the eastern coast of South America, directed to the southwest.
P.S. To understand where the various currents are, study the set of maps. It will also be useful to read this article
The Atlantic Ocean is a component of the World Ocean with a powerful flow air masses. In terms of territory, it is in second place. The water area is located in different climatic zones. The circulating currents represent the warm and cold currents of the Atlantic Ocean. I would like to talk about the latter separately. Namely, about the causes of their occurrence and features. So, let's start our acquaintance with the huge water element.
Currents of the Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean (this can be clearly seen on the map) washes almost all continents. Naturally, this water area forms climatic features in these land areas. And why is this happening? a huge role in the formation of the climate play not only currents but also. Warm oceans prevail over cold ones. There are only 5 of the latter.
The currents of the Atlantic Ocean have a peculiarity: they move clockwise, forming a powerful cycle of water flow and replacing warm waters with cold ones. There are two such cycles in the water area: in the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
What is the cold current of the Atlantic As we said earlier, there are only 5 large ones:
- Labrador.
- Canarian.
- Benguela.
- Falkland.
- Flow Western winds.
The course of the West winds
IN southern hemisphere In the Atlantic Ocean, the course of the West winds is especially pronounced. The second name is Antarctic circumpolar. It is considered the most powerful and largest stream of the entire World Ocean, passing through all the meridians of the Earth. It captures masses of water not only in the Atlantic Ocean, but also in the Indian and Pacific. The length of this current is 30 thousand square meters. km, width - up to 1 thousand km. Temperature surface water in this stream it fluctuates from +2°С in the southern regions to +12°С in the northern regions.
This powerful Atlantic Ocean arose as a result of the West winds prevailing here. Basically, they dominate the territory temperate zone in the area from 35 ° S. sh. up to 65°S sh. The winds blow in the direction from west to east, becoming stronger in winter, weaker in summer. They blow over the terrain of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. But in the latter, their power is many times higher due to the fact that there is less land on the barrier to the winds. The area in which the current operates is very often distinguished as a separate South ocean. The speed of this water flow in the surface layer reaches 9 m/s, in deep layers it decreases to 4 m/s. This current gives life to two more cold circulating masses: Benguela and Falkland.
Malvinas current
Falkland (Malvinskoe) - the cold current of the Atlantic Ocean. An offshoot of the Antarctic Circumpolar Stream. It separates from it in the region of the extreme point of about. On its way, it skirts the eastern shores of the South American continent and Patagonia, flows along the Falkland Islands, and ends in the area of La Plata Bay. Then it flows into the warm waters of the Brazilian current. The confluence of two streams of circulating water is clearly visible from a height, as well as if you study the Atlantic Ocean on a map. The fact is that the waters of the cold current are green, and the warm ones are blue.
The Falkland stream has a low speed - up to 1 m / s. Water temperature during - from +4°С to +15°С. Compared to other circulating masses, it has a lower water salinity - up to 33‰. This is due to the fact that icebergs begin their movement with the flow, which gradually melt.
Benguela current
The Benguela is another branch of the cold current of this ocean, which separates from the current of the West winds. It originates at the Cape of Good Hope and, heading north, ends in the Namib Desert (in Africa). Further, turning to the west, it flows into the South Equatorial Current, thereby ending the cycle of circulating masses in the Southern Hemisphere. The temperature of the water of the Bengal current is not too different from the temperature of the water in the ocean, it drops only by 3-4 °. This stream comes very close to the western margin African continent. The direction of the current is set by the westerly winds at the very beginning and the southeast trade winds in the future.
Labrador Current
The cold current of the Atlantic Ocean stands out - Labrador. This flow sea waters begins its journey from the Baffin Sea, heading to about. Newfoundland. Passes between Canada and Greenland. Moving from north to south, at the end of the path it meets the warm Gulf Stream. Displacing its waters, directs them to the east. It is known that it is this warm current that provides in many respects favorable climate throughout Europe. We can say that Labrador contributes to this.
Proximity to North Arctic Ocean and glaciers gives the current a small salinity of water, up to 32%. Due to the Labrador Current, numerous icebergs float to the south of the Atlantic, complicating navigation in these regions. The infamous Titanic collided with an iceberg that was carried into the ocean by this very current.
canary current
Canarian - the cold current of the Atlantic Ocean. It has mixed type. At the beginning of its movement (off the northwestern coast of Africa and canary islands) the current carries cold waters. Further, moving to the west, it changes the temperature of the water from cold to warm and eventually flows into the North Passat Current.
The message about the Atlantic Ocean for children can be used in preparation for the lesson. The story about the Atlantic Ocean for children can be supplemented with interesting facts.
Report on the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean second by size ocean on our planet. The name arose, probably, from the legendary missing mainland Atlantis.
In the west it is bounded by the shores of North and South America, in the east by the shores of Europe and Africa to Cape Agulhas.
The area of the Atlantic Ocean with seas is 91.6 million km 2, the average depth is 3332 m.
Maximum depth - 8742 m in the gutter Puerto Rico.
The Atlantic Ocean is located in almost all climatic zones, except for the Arctic, but its largest part lies in the regions of the equatorial, subequatorial, tropical and subtropical climates.
A distinctive feature of the Atlantic Ocean is a small number of islands, as well as a complex bottom topography, which forms many pits and gutters.
In the Atlantic Ocean, well-defined currents, directed almost in the meridional direction. This is due to the large elongation of the ocean from north to south and the outlines of its coastline. The most famous warm current Gulfstream and its continuation - North Atlantic flow.
Salinity of the Atlantic Ocean generally higher than the average salinity of the waters of the World Ocean, and organic world poorer in terms of biodiversity than the Pacific Ocean.
Important sea routes linking Europe with North America. Shelves North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico - places of oil production.
Plants are represented by a wide range of green, brown and red algae.
The total number of fish species exceeds 15,000, the most common are the families of Nanotenia and white-blooded pikes. large mammals most widely represented: cetaceans, seals, seals and others. The amount of plankton is insignificant, which causes the migration of whales to the feeding grounds to the north or to temperate latitudes, where it is more.
Almost half of the world's fish catch is caught in the seas of the Atlantic Ocean. Today, unfortunately, stocks of Atlantic herring and cod have declined sharply, sea bass and other types of fish. Today, the problem of conservation of biological and mineral resources is particularly acute.
We hope the above information about the Atlantic Ocean has helped you. And you can add a report about the Atlantic Ocean through the comment form.
Which are known to the whole 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 This is where its name came from, which means "flow from the bay." It was later proven that only part of this flow exits the Gulf of Mexico. The main current originates from the Atlantic coast of North America. Upon reaching the named ocean, the Gulf Stream deviates to the left, instead of shifting to the other side, according to the influence of the rotation of the Earth.
Antilles Current
The Antilles Current, together with the Florida Current, is a continuation of the Gulf Stream. It flows in a northerly direction from the known Bahamas. All of them - the Atlantic Ocean receives the Antilles water column as a result of the north equatorial flow and under the influence of Max Speed- 2 km/h. The temperature does not exceed 28°C in summer and 25°C in winter.
North and South Equatorial Current
The southern current moves from Africa to America. In the area of one of the capes it crosses, it is divided into two branches. One of them moves towards the northwest, where it changes its name to the Guiana current, and the second (named Brazilian) moves to the southwest, affecting Cape Horn. Parallel to the second is the Falkland Stream of Water.
The northern border of the Northern Equatorial Current has conditional features, while in the south the division is more noticeable. The stream begins near Cape Zeleny, or rather, from its western side. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the current becomes calmer and colder, therefore it changes its name to the Antilles.
These two moving streams of water - warm currents. The Atlantic Ocean is rich in such thicknesses in its water area. The rest will be discussed further.
Gulfstream
The Gulf Stream is a very powerful and extensive current that affects the climate of the American and European continents. The speed of water on its surface is 2.5 meters per second. The depth reaches 800 m, and the width is up to 120 kilometers. On the surface, the water temperature reaches 25-27 degrees Celsius, but in the middle depths it does not exceed 12 o C. Every second this current moves 75 million tons of water, which is ten times more 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 south, forming the Greenland Current. Then it deviates again to the west and merges with the Gulf Stream.
North Atlantic Current
The North Atlantic is the second most important in such a body of water as the Atlantic Ocean. The currents that depart from the Gulf Stream are striking in their characteristics, and this one is no exception. It carries up to 40 million cubic meters of water in one second. Together with other Atlantic currents, the named has a significant impact on the weather of Europe. The Gulf Stream could not provide the continents with such a mild climate alone, because its warm waters pass at a sufficient distance from their shores.
Guinean Current
Atlantic Ocean - currents that constantly circulate in the water area. Guinean waters move from the western to the eastern. A little later they turn south. Usually, average temperature water is no more than 28 ° C. The 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 Pacific and Indian Oceans. It was first mentioned in the 19th century. The main difference of a countercurrent is that it moves in the opposite direction of the wind and other circulations in the middle of a certain water area.
Lomonosov Current
The Atlantic Ocean is also available here) 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 ship on which scientists first crossed these waters. Average depth- 150 meters. Because we are talking about the cold current, it is necessary to clarify information about temperature regime- 20 o C is most often observed here.
sea currents
The article indicates some circulations of waters, which are rich in the Atlantic Ocean. Sea currents can arise during the acting forces, which, firstly, create, and, secondly, change the speed and direction of flows. Their formation is strongly influenced by relief, coastline and depth.