2011年8月1日 · Ocean water is on the move, affecting your climate, your local ecosystem, and the seafood that you eat. Ocean currents, abiotic features of the environment, are continuous and directed movements of ocean water. These currents are on the ocean’s surface and in its depths, flowing both locally and globally.

Coming into view now is the Kuroshio Current, located off the east coast of Japan. This is the ocean's largest current. It can travel between 25-75 miles a day and is equal in volume to 6,000 large rivers. Surface ocean currents on the open ocean are fantastically complicated and beautiful, driven by a complex global wind system.

2025年1月30日 · Climate Indicators hold key information for the most relevant domains of climate change: temperature and energy, atmospheric composition, ocean and water as well as the cryosphere. Cryosphere The cryosphere encompasses the frozen parts of Earth, including glaciers and ice sheets, sea ice, and any other frozen body of water.

2023年3月28日 · Keeping Current. While ocean currents are shallow-level circulations, there is global circulation which extends to the depths of the sea called the Great Ocean Conveyor. Also called the thermohaline circulation, it is driven by differences in the density of the sea water which is controlled by temperature (thermal) and salinity (haline).

A second factor that drives ocean currents is wind. Winds drive currents that are at or near the ocean's surface. These currents are generally measured in meters per second or in knots (1 knot = 1.15 miles per hour or 1.85 kilometers per hour). Winds drive currents near coastal areas on a localized scale, and in the open ocean on a global scale.

2023年4月14日 · This image will help identify the top 25 of the world's wind driven ocean currents. To view each current individually, uncheck the "All Currents" box, then check the box for each of the individual currents. Currents indicated by the red color are considered "warm" currents as they transport warm water (and heat) toward the poles.

2024年12月18日 · Winds, water density, and tides all drive ocean currents. Coastal and sea floor features influence their location, direction, and speed. Earth’s rotation results in the Coriolis Effect which also influences ocean currents. Large-scale, surface ocean currents are driven by global wind systems that are fueled by energy from the sun.

2020年11月4日 · NASA's GRACE satellites measured Atlantic Ocean bottom pressure as an indicator of deep ocean current speed. This image shows bottom pressure anomaly (mean of November 2009 through March 2010, relative to 2005–2012 mean) over the North Atlantic basin.

2024年9月19日 · Rip currents are powerful, channeled currents of water flowing away from shore. They typically extend from the shoreline, through the surf zone, and past the line of breaking waves. Rip currents can occur at any beach with breaking waves, including the Great Lakes. Anatomy of the rip current. Download

2025年1月16日 · The Japanese named it Kuroshio, or black current, for its dark, cobalt blue waters. Physical oceanographer Steven Jayne said, “The Kuroshio is the strongest current in the Pacific Ocean, and is also one of the most intense air-sea heat exchange regions on the globe. It influences climate as far as North America.”