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A narrower, weaker counter current, the Davidson Current, occasionally moves somewhat warmer water northwards during the winter months. During El Niño events, the California Current is disrupted, leading to declines in phytoplankton , resulting in cascading effects up the food chain, such as declines in fisheries, seabird breeding failures and ...
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of seawater generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. [1]
Surface temperatures in the western North Atlantic: Most of the North American landmass is black and dark blue (cold), while the Gulf Stream is red (warm). Source: NASA The Gulf Stream is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the United States, then veers east near 36°N latitude ...
The ocean temperature plays a crucial role in the global climate system, ocean currents and for marine habitats. It varies depending on depth, geographical location and season. Not only does the temperature differ in seawater, so does the salinity. Warm surface water is generally saltier than the cooler deep or polar waters. [1]
Humboldt Current. The Humboldt Current, also called the Peru Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America. [1] It is an eastern boundary current flowing in the direction of the equator, and extends 500–1,000 km (310–620 mi) offshore.
El Niño is strictly related to water temperatures near the equator in the eastern Pacific Ocean. In April, NOAA issued an El Niño watch, saying there is a 62% chance of the phenomenon developing ...
The reasons are the two cold currents: California Current at Northeast and Humboldt Current along the equatorial line. The Hawaiian Islands (in white) have higher temperatures than the equatorial line near the coast of South America because cold waters from upwelling along the California coast are farther away than the thermal equator, and ...
The extent of the ocean surface down into the ocean is influenced by the amount of mixing that takes place between the surface water and the deeper water. This depends on the temperature: in the tropics the warm surface layer of about 100 m is quite stable and does not mix much with deeper water, while near the poles winter cooling and storms makes the surface layer denser and it mixes to ...