204 Sverdrup−Armbrust: An

Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s
9. The Surface Currents Text © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

Chapter 8

Between Yemen and Somalia, the waters of the Gulf of Aden swirl in
topographically squared off eddies which, in this SeaWIFS image, are made
visible by the chlorophyll-bearing phytoplankton that they carry. This image
was collected on November 1, 2003.

The Surface Currents

Chapter Outline
8.1 Surface Currents 8.7 Measuring the Currents
8.2 Wind-Driven Ocean Currents 8.8 Practical Considerations: Energy from the Currents
8.3 Current Flow Summary
8.4 Eddies Key Terms
8.5 Convergence and Divergence Study Questions
8.6 Changing Circulation Patterns
Box: Ocean Drifters
 205
Sverdrup−Armbrust: An 9. The Surface Currents Text
Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

Learning Outcomes
After studying the information in this chapter students should 4. explain the process of western intensification,
be able to: 5. relate patterns of surface convergence and divergence with
downwelling and upwelling, and
1. describe and sketch the motion of water in the Ekman layer,
6. sketch the gross structure of combined wind-driven and
2. diagram the formation of surface current gyres, thermohaline circulation in the oceans.
3. locate the major surface currents on a map of the oceans,

E arth is surrounded by two great oceans: an ocean of air

and an ocean of water. Both are in constant motion,
driven by the energy of the Sun and the gravity of Earth.
Their motions are linked; the winds give energy to the sea sur-
face and the currents are the result. The currents carry heat from
one location to another, altering Earth’s surface temperature pat-
terns and modifying the air above. The interaction between the
atmosphere and the ocean is dynamic; as one system drives the
other, the driven system acts to alter the properties of the driv-
ing system.
In this chapter, we explore the formation of the ocean’s sur-
face currents. We follow these currents as they flow, merge, and
move away from each other. We examine both horizontal and Figure 8.1 A wind-driven surface current moves at an angle of 45°
vertical circulation, inspect the coupling of these water motions, to the direction of the wind; this angle is to the right in the Northern
and consider the ways in which they are linked to the overall in- Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
teraction between the atmosphere and the ocean.
the Southern Hemisphere. In the open sea, the surface flow is
deflected at a 45° angle from the wind direction, as shown in
8.1 Surface Currents figure 8.1.
When the winds blow over the oceans, they set the surface
water in motion, driving the large-scale surface currents in The Ekman Spiral and Ekman Transport
nearly constant patterns. The density of water is about 1000 Wind-driven surface water sets the water immediately below it
times greater than the density of air, and once in motion, the in motion. But because of low-friction coupling in the water, this
mass of the moving water is so great that its inertia keeps it next deeper layer moves more slowly than the surface layer and
flowing. The currents flow more in response to the average is deflected to the right (Northern Hemisphere) or left (Southern
atmospheric circulation than to the daily weather and its short- Hemisphere) of the surface-layer direction. The same is true for
term changes; however, the major currents do shift slightly in the next layer down and the next. The result is a spiral in which
response to seasonal changes in the winds. The currents are each deeper layer moves more slowly and with a greater angle
further modified by interactions between the currents and of deflection to the surface flow. This current spiral is called the
along zones of converging and diverging water. The major Ekman spiral, after the physicist V. Walfrid Ekman, who de-
surface currents have been called the rivers of the sea; they veloped its mathematical relationship. The spiral extends to a
have no banks to contain them, but they maintain their average depth of approximately 100–150 m (330–500 ft), where the
course. much reduced current will be moving in the opposite direction
Because the frictional coupling between the ocean water to the surface current. Over the depth of the spiral, the average
and Earth’s surface is small, the moving water is deflected by flow of the water set in motion by the wind, or the net flow
the Coriolis effect in the same way that moving air is deflected. (Ekman transport), moves 90° to the right or left of the surface
B u t because water moves more slowly than air, it takes wind, depending on the hemisphere (fig. 8.2). This relationship
lo nger to m ove water the sam e distance as air. D uring is in contrast to the surface water, which moves at an angle of
th is lo n g er tim e p erio d , E arth ro tates farth er o u t fro m 45° to the wind direction.
under the water than from under the wind. Therefore, the
slower-moving water appears to be deflected to a greater
degree than the overlying air. The surface-current acted upon Ocean Gyres
by the Coriolis effect is deflected to the right of the driving Refer to figure 8.3 as you read the description of surface currents
wind direction in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in in the major oceans. In the Northern Hemisphere, the wind-driven
206 Sverdrup−Armbrust: An
Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s
9. The Surface Currents Text © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

N
Westerlies
40°N

Elevated convergence
30°N
Northeast
trades
Tropical
Doldrums W E divergence
0°
Southeast
trades

Elevated convergence 30°S

Figure 8.2 Water is set in motion by the wind. The direction and
speed of flow change with depth to form the Ekman spiral. This change Westerlies
with depth is a result of Earth’s rotation and the inability of water, due
40°S
to low friction, to transmit a driving force downward with 100%
efficiency. The net transport over the wind-driven column is 90° to the S
right of the wind in the Northern Hemisphere and 90° to the left in the
Southern Hemisphere.

Winds Ekman Resulting

Ekman transport under the westerlies moves 90° to the right of transport surface currents
the westerlies, away from an ocean’s western shore or bound-
ary, and along the 40°–50°N latitudes until it reaches its eastern Figure 8.3 Wind-driven transport and resulting surface currents in
an ocean bounded by land to the east and to the west. The currents
shore or boundary. The Ekman transport under the trade winds
form large oceanic gyres that rotate clockwise in the Northern
moves 90° to the right of the trades, away from an ocean’s Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
eastern boundary, and along the 10°–20° latitudes until the cur-
rent reaches the western boundary of the ocean. When Northern
Hemisphere water moving with the trade winds accumulates at
the land boundary on the west side of an ocean, the water flows Geostrophic Flow
north to the latitude of the westerlies and then eastward across If Ekman transport is applied to oceans with eastern and western
the ocean. Water accumulating on the east side of a northern land boundaries, a portion of the wind-driven surface water is
ocean flows south, toward the region from which the water deflected toward the center of each of the large, circular current
moves westward under the trade winds. In Southern Hemisphere gyres just described (fig. 8.3). A convergent lens of surface water
oceans, the east-west wind-driven Ekman transport is deflected is elevated more than 1 m (3 ft) above the equilibrium sea level,
90° to the left of the trade winds and the westerlies. Water and this lens depresses the underlying denser water.
accumulating on the eastern side of a Southern Hemisphere The thickness of the surface lens is about 1000 times greater
ocean moves north, and water on the western side of a southern than the elevation of the lens above sea level. This is because the
ocean moves south. difference in density between the surface water and the deeper
The Ekman transport causes an accumulation of water at water is only about 1/1000 of the density difference between air
the center of the circular flow pattern that results in an elevated and water at the sea surface. The surface slope of the mound in-
convergence. As the elevation builds, the wind-driven surface creases as deflected water moves inward until the outward pres-
flow moves more closely in line with the driving winds, and sure driving the water away from the gyre center equals the
the surface current circulates around the convergence zone. In Coriolis effect, acting to deflect the moving water into the raised
each hemisphere, this pattern produces continuous flow and a central mound. At this balance point, geostrophic flow is said to
series of interconnecting surface currents moving in a circu- exist, and no further deflection of the moving water occurs. In-
lar path centered on 30° latitude. The rotation is clockwise stead, the currents flow smoothly around the gyre parallel to its
in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the elevation contours. See figure 8.4 for a diagram of this process.
Southern Hemisphere. These large, circular-motion, wind- Using the subsurface water-density distribution to describe the
driven current systems are known as gyres. In the more south- extent of the depression of the deeper water, oceanographers are
ern latitudes, there is no land between the Atlantic, Pacific, and able to calculate the elevation and slope of the sea surface and so
Indian Oceans; here, the surface currents, driven by the west- calculate the velocity, volume transport, and depth of the currents
erlies, continue around Earth in a circumpolar flow around present in the geostrophic flow around the mound. It is also pos-
Antarctica. sible to measure the topography of the sea surface using satellites
 207
Sverdrup−Armbrust: An 9. The Surface Currents Text
Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

V V Figure 8.4 Geostrophic flow (V) exists

V V around a gyre when Fc, the inward deflection
Fc Fc force due to the Coriolis effect, is balanced by
Fc Fg Fg, the outward-acting pressure force created by
Fg Fc
Fg Fg the elevated water and gravity. This example is
V
V Fc Fc
of a clockwise gyre in the Northern Hemisphere.

Lens of accumulated
surface water

Deeper water V Fc Fg

and to calculate the geostrophic flow that maintains the topog- move almost continuously around Earth. This current is the West
raphy. The region of the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic Ocean Wind Drift. The tips of South America and Africa deflect a por-
is the classic example of a gyre in geostrophic balance; it is dis- tion of this flow northward on the east sides of the South Pacific
cussed following the Atlantic currents in section 8.2. and South Atlantic Oceans. As in the North Pacific, continuity
currents form between the South Equatorial Current and the West
Wind Drift. The Peru Current, or Humbolt Current, flows
8.2 Wind-Driven Ocean Currents from south to north along the coast of South America, while the
The currents that make up the large oceanic gyre systems and East Australia Current can be seen moving weakly from north
other major currents have been given names and descriptions to south on the west side of the ocean. These four currents form
based on their average positions. These are presented here ocean the counterclockwise South Pacific gyre.
by ocean and can be followed on figure 8.5. As you follow these The North Pacific and South Pacific gyres form on either side
current paths, review their associations with the large gyre sys- of 5°N because the meteorological equator or doldrums belt is dis-
tems and their overlying wind belts. placed northward from the geographic equator (0°), owing to the
unequal heating of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Also
between the North and South Equatorial Currents, in the zone of
Pacific Ocean Currents the doldrums is a current moving in the opposite direction, from
In the North Pacific Ocean, the northeast trade winds push the west to east. This is a continuity current known as the Equato-
water toward the west and northwest; this is the North rial Countercurrent, which helps to return accumulated surface
Equatorial Current. The westerlies create the North Pacific water eastward across the Pacific. Under the South Equatorial
Current, or North Pacific Drift, moving from west to east. Current is a subsurface current flowing from west to east called
Note that the trade winds move the water away from Central and the Cromwell Current. This cold-water continuity current also
South America and pile it up against Asia, while the returns water accumulated in the western Pacific.
westerlies move the water away from Asia and push it against
the west coast of North America. The water that accumulates in
one area must flow toward areas from which the water has been Atlantic Ocean Currents
removed. This movement forms two currents: the California The North Atlantic westerly winds move the water eastward as
Current, moving from north to south along the western coast the North Atlantic Current, or North Atlantic Drift. The
of North America, and the Kuroshio Current, moving from northeast trade winds push the water to the west, forming the
south to north along the east coast of Japan. The Kuroshio and North Equatorial Current. The north-south continuity currents
California Currents are not wind-driven currents; they provide are the Gulf Stream, flowing northward along the coast of
continuity of flow and complete a circular motion centered North America, and the Canary Current, moving to the south
around 30°N latitude. This circular, clockwise flow of water is on the eastern side of the North Atlantic. The Gulf Stream is fed
called the North Pacific gyre. Other major North Pacific currents by the Florida Current and the North Equatorial Current. The
include the Oyashio Current, driven by the polar easterlies, and North Atlantic gyre rotates clockwise. The polar easterlies pro-
the Alaska Current, fed by water from the North Pacific Cur- vide the driving force for the Labrador and East Greenland
rent and moving in a counterclockwise gyre in the Gulf of Currents, which balance water flowing into the Arctic Ocean
Alaska. Little exchange of water occurs through the Bering from the Norwegian Current.
Strait between the North Pacific and the Arctic Ocean; no cur- In the South Atlantic, the westerlies continue the West Wind
rent exists that is comparable to the Atlantic Ocean’s Norwegian Drift. The southeast trade winds move the water to the west, but
Current, which moves warm water to the Arctic Ocean. the bulge of Brazil deflects part of the South Equatorial Current
In the South Pacific Ocean, the southeast trade winds move northward into the Caribbean Sea and eventually into the Gulf of
the water to the left of the wind and westward, forming the South Mexico, where it exits as the Florida Current and joins the Gulf
Equatorial Current. The westerly winds push the water to the Stream. A portion of the South Equatorial Current moves south
east; at these southern latitudes, the surface current so formed can of the Brazilian bulge along the western side of the South Atlantic
208 Sverdrup−Armbrust: An
Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s
9. The Surface Currents Text © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

d c.
W
es

nl a n
t Gr

ee
eenl a n d
c.
Gr

Lab

n
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rad

rwe
or c.

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No
60° N
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o

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Ala
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Pacific c. rth
Nor t
h
Ca No tic c.
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tre Atl

c.
40° N
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lifo

ar y
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Florida c.
Kurosh

an
a c.

No
r t h Eq .

C
u a to r i a l c 20° N
N or t h E q
u a to r i a l c . Equatorial North
Equat orial Counter c. Counter c. Equatorial
G c.
u in 0°
e a c. Eq

c.
u a torial C
South Equato ounter c.

as
rial Equatoria

ulh
c. S. Equatorial
S.
Pe

c.
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Ag
r
Ea

uc

g u e l a c.
st

c.
W e s li a
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il c
Au

Au s t r a
az
s t r a li a

Br

B en

40° S
c.
d c.
klan

d Drift
West Win
Fa l

60° S
in d Drift
West W

150° E 180° 150° W 120° W 90° W 60° W 30° W 0˚ 30° E 60° E 90° E 120° E

Figure 8.5 The long-term average flow of the major surface currents of the oceans.

to form the Brazil Current. The Benguela Current moves Indian Ocean Currents
northward along the African coast. The South Atlantic gyre is
The Indian Ocean is mainly a Southern Hemisphere ocean. The
complete, and it rotates counterclockwise.
southeast trade winds push the water to the west, creating the
Because much of the South Equatorial Current is deflected
South Equatorial Current. The Southern Hemisphere west-
across the equator, the Equatorial Countercurrent appears only
erlies still move the water eastward in the West Wind Drift. The
weakly in the eastern portion of the mid-Atlantic. The northward
gyre is completed by the West Australia Current moving
movement of South Atlantic surface water across the equator
northward and the Agulhas Current moving southward along
results in a net flow of surface water from the Southern
the east coast of Africa. Because this is a Southern Hemisphere
Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere. This flow is balanced
ocean, the currents are deflected left of the wind direction, and
by a flow of water at depth from the Northern Hemisphere to the
the gyre rotates counterclockwise. The northeast trade winds in
Southern Hemisphere. This deep-water return flow is the North
winter drive the North Equatorial Current to the west, and the
Atlantic deep water, discussed in chapter 8. Again, the
Equatorial Countercurrent returns water eastward toward
equatorial currents are displaced northward, although not as
Australia. Again, these equatorial currents are displaced
markedly as in the Pacific Ocean.
approximately 5°N. With the coming of the wet monsoon
The Sargasso Sea marks the middle of an ocean gyre. It is
season and its west winds, these currents are reduced. The
located in the central North Atlantic Ocean, and its boundaries
strong seasonal monsoon effect controls the surface flow of
are the Gulf Stream on the west, the North Atlantic Current to
the Northern Hemisphere portion of the Indian Ocean. In the
the north, the Canary Current on the east, and the North
summer, the winds blow the surface water eastward, and in
Equatorial Current to the south. The circular motion of the gyre
the winter, they blow it westward. This strong seasonal shift is
currents isolates a lens of clear, warm, downwelling water 1000
unlike anything found in the Atlantic or the Pacific Ocean.
m (3000 ft) deep. The region is famous for the floating mats of
Sargassum, a brown seaweed, stretching across its surface. The
extent of the floating seaweed frightened early sailors, who told
stories of ships imprisoned by the weed and sea monsters lurk- Arctic Ocean Currents
ing below the surface. Except for the floating Sargassum, with The relentless drift of water and ice in the Arctic Ocean moves
its rich and specialized ecological community, the clear water in a large clockwise gyre driven by the polar easterly winds. This
is nearly a biological desert. gyre is centered not on the North Pole, as early explorers
 209
Sverdrup−Armbrust: An 9. The Surface Currents Text
Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

W180°E
0.1–0.5 m (0.3–1.5 ft) per second. Currents flow faster when a
ALASKA large volume of water is forced to flow through a narrow gap.
(U.S.)
For example, the North and part of the South Atlantic Equato-
CANADA rial Currents flow into the Caribbean Sea, then into the Gulf of
SIBERIA Mexico, and finally exit to the North Atlantic as the Florida Cur-
rent through the narrow gap between Florida and Cuba. The
Florida Current’s speed may exceed 3 knots, or 1.5 m (5 ft) per
second. Once into the Atlantic Ocean this current turns north and
becomes the Gulf Stream.
The flow is distributed over the width and depth of the cur-
90°W 90°N 90°E
rent. When the cross-sectional area of the current expands, the
current slows down; when the cross-sectional area decreases, the
current speeds up. Speed of flow may not be directly related to
80°
surface wind speed but can be affected by the depth and width
of the current as determined by land barriers, by the presence of
.

dor C. d C GREENLAND
Labra n
la
re
en Spitsbergen
another current, or by the rotation of Earth, as explained in the
s tG
W
e “Western Intensification” section of this chapter.
NORWAY
70°
st Greenland C .
ian C.

Ea FINLAND

Current Volume Transport

g

SWEDEN
rw e

60
°
No

ICELAND W0°E
Major ocean currents transport enormous volumes of water. A
Figure 8.6 The circulation in the Arctic Ocean is driven by the polar convenient unit to report transport volume is the Sverdrup (Sv)
easterlies, which produce a large, clockwise gyre. Water enters the (named after Harald Sverdrup, a leading oceanographer of the
Arctic Ocean from the North Atlantic by way of the Norwegian last century and former Director of the Scripps Institution
Current and exits to the Atlantic by the East Greenland Current and the of Oceanography). A Sverdrup equals 1 million cubic meters
Labrador Current. (~3.5  107 ft3) per second. The transport rate of fresh water in
all of the world’s rivers into the ocean is about 1 Sv. Transport
expected, but is offset over the Canadian basin at 150°W and rates of ocean currents are difficult to measure accurately and can
80°N (fig. 8.6). Although the currents and the winds move the ice vary by both location in the current and time of the year. The Gulf
slowly at 0.1 knot (2 mi/day), Arctic explorers trying to reach the Stream transports about 30 Sv passing through the Strait of
North Pole found that they traveled south with the drifting ice and Florida as the Florida Current. This increases steadily as it moves
water at speeds almost equal to their difficult progress north. north along the coast until it transports about 80 Sv near Cape
The Arctic Ocean is supplied from the North Atlantic by the Hatteras. The transport of the Gulf Stream continues to increase
Norwegian Current; some of this flow enters west of Spitsber- downstream of Cape Hatteras at a rate of 8 Sv every 100 km,
gen, but most flows along the coast of Norway and moves east- reaching a maximum transport of about 150 Sv at 55°W. The
ward along the Siberian coast into the Chukchi Sea. A small downstream increase in transport between Cape Hatteras and
inflow of water entering the Arctic through the Bering Strait 55°W is thought to be caused by increased velocities in the deep
brings water from the Bering Sea to join the eastward flow waters of the Gulf Stream. The current transports a maximum
along Siberia and the large Arctic gyre. The western side of the amount of water in the fall and a minimum in the spring.
gyre crosses the center of the Arctic Ocean to split north of
Greenland. Here, the larger flow forms the East Greenland Cur-
rent flowing south and taking Arctic Ocean water into the North Western Intensification
Atlantic. The lesser flow moves along the west side of In the North Atlantic and North Pacific, the currents flowing on
Greenland to join the Labrador Current and move south along the western side of each ocean tend to be much stronger, deeper,
the Canadian coast. and narrower in cross section than the currents on the eastern
Outflow from Siberian rivers is caught in the eastward flow side. This phenomenon is known as the western intensification
of water and ice along Siberia. Eventually, this discharge joins of currents. The Gulf Stream and Kuroshio Currents are faster
the gyre, distributing sediments and pollutants throughout the and narrower than the Canary and California Currents, although
Arctic (see the box in chapter 8 titled “Arctic Ocean Studies”). both the eastern and western boundary currents transport about
the same amount of water to preserve continuity of flow around
the gyres. Western intensification of currents traveling from low
8.3 Current Flow to high latitudes is related to (1) the eastward turning of Earth,
(2) the increase in the Coriolis effect with increasing latitude,
Current Speed (3) the changing strength and direction of the east-west wind
Wind-driven open-ocean surface currents move at speeds that field (trade winds and westerlies) with latitude, and (4) the
are about 1/100 of the wind speed measured 10 m (30 ft) above friction between land masses and ocean water currents. These
the sea surface. The water moves between 0.25 and 1.0 knot, or factors cause a compression of the currents on the western side
210 Sverdrup−Armbrust: An
Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s
9. The Surface Currents Text © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

of the oceans, where water is moving from lower to higher Current side. When these indentations pinch off, they become
latitudes. This compression requires that the current speed counterclockwise-rotating, cold-water eddies that are displaced
increase to transport the water circulating about the gyre. On eastward through the Gulf Stream and into the warm-water core
the eastern side of the gyre, where currents are moving from of the gyre. Bulges at the western edge of the Gulf Stream are
higher to lower latitudes, the currents are stretched in the east- filled with warm Gulf Stream water. When these bulges are cut
west direction. Here, the current’s speed is reduced, but it still off, they become warm-water, clockwise-rotating eddies drift-
transports the required volume of water. The changing speed of ing into cold water to the west and north of the Gulf Stream.
flow around the gyre causes the Coriolis effect to vary. Where Follow these processes in figures 8.7 and 8.8. These eddies may
the current speed is high, the Coriolis effect is large, and a maintain their physical identity for weeks as they wander about
steeper surface slope is required to create a geostrophic flow the oceans; they are especially numerous in the area north of the
balance. Sargasso Sea. Current meanders and eddy formation produce
Fast-flowing, western-boundary currents move warm surface flow patterns that differ markedly from the uniform cur-
equatorial surface water to higher latitudes. Both the Gulf Stream rent flows shown on current charts. These charts show average
and the Kuroshio Current bring heat from equatorial latitudes to current flow, not daily or weekly variations.
moderate the climates of Japan and
northern Asia (in the case of the
Kuroshio) and the British Isles and Cold
northern Europe (in the case of the Gulf water W
Stream, via the North Atlantic and Nor-
wegian Currents). Western intensification
is obscured in the South Pacific and South
Atlantic, because both Africa and South
America deflect portions of the West Wind W C
Drift and create strong currents on the
eastern side of these oceans. The deflec-
C
tion of water from the Atlantic’s South
Equatorial Current to the Northern
Hemisphere removes water from the
South Atlantic gyre and strengthens the
W e stern boundary

Gulf Stream. The flow of surface water

from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean
through the islands of Indonesia also helps
ide
rn s

to prevent the development of strongly C

flowing currents on the west side of
Easte

0 25 50 Miles

Southern Hemisphere oceans. 0 25 50 Kilometers Cape

Hatteras

8.4 Eddies Warm

water
When a narrow, fast-moving current
moves into or through slower-moving
water, the force of its flow displaces the
quieter water and captures additional
water as it does so. The current oscillates Cold Cold Cold
and develops waves along its boundary
that are known as meanders. These
meanders break off to form eddies, or C
W C
pockets of water moving with a circular W
W C
motion; eddies take with them energy of
motion from the main flow and gradually
Warm Warm
dissipate this energy through friction.
Eddies also act to mix and blend water. (a) (b) (c) (d)
As the Gulf Stream moves away
Figure 8.7 The western boundary of the Gulf Stream is defined by sharp changes in current
from the North American coast, it is velocity and direction. Meanders form at this boundary after the Gulf Stream leaves the U.S. coast
likely to develop a meandering path. The at Cape Hatteras. The amplitude of the meanders increases as they move downstream (a and b). In
western edge of the Gulf Stream develops time, the current flow pinches off the meander (c). The current boundary re-forms, and isolated
oscillations, and the indentations are rotating cells of warm water (W) wander into the cold water, while cells of cold water (C) drift
filled by cold water from the Labrador through the Gulf Stream into the warm water (d).
 211
Sverdrup−Armbrust: An 9. The Surface Currents Text
Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

Figure 8.8 A composite satellite image of the sea surface reveals the
warm (orange and yellow) and cold (green and blue) eddies that form
along the Gulf Stream. (Reddish blue areas at the top are the coldest
Figure 8.9 Space shuttle view. Sunlight reflected off the
Mediterranean reveals spiral eddies; their effects on climate are being
waters.) These eddies may stir the water column right down to the
monitored. Dimensions of this image are 500 km  500 km (310 mi 
ocean floor, kicking up blizzards of sediment.
310 mi).

Large and small eddies generated by horizontal flows or flow is similar to that generated by a 35-knot wind. The
currents exist in all parts of the oceans; these eddies are of diameter of the eddies may be as much as 325 km (200 mi),
varying sizes, ranging from 10 to several hundred kilometers and their effect may reach to the sea floor. At the sea floor, the
in diameter. Each eddy contains water with specific chemical rotation rate is zero; therefore, a few meters above the bottom
and physical properties and maintains its identity and the speed of rotation diminishes very rapidly, and consider-
rotational inertia as it wanders through the oceans. Eddies able turbulence is generated as the energy of the eddy is dis-
may appear at the sea surface or be embedded in waters at sipated. These eddies are similar in many ways to the winds
any depth. rotating about atmospheric pressure cells, and they are some-
Eddies rotate in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. times called abyssal storms. As the eddies wander through the
They stir the ocean until they gradually dissipate because of fluid oceans, they stir up bottom sediments, producing ripples and
friction, losing their chemical and thermal identity and their en- sand waves in their wakes; they also mix the water, creating
ergy of motion. By testing the water properties of an eddy, homogeneous water properties over large areas. Eventually,
oceanographers are able to determine the eddy’s place of origin. the eddies lose their energy to turbulence and blend into the
Small surface eddies encountered 800 km (500 mi) southeast of surrounding water.
Cape Hatteras in the North Atlantic have been found with wa- Eddies constantly form, migrate, and dissipate at all
ter properties of the eastern Atlantic near Gibraltar, more than depths. Eddy motion is superimposed on the mean flow of the
4000 km (2500 mi) away. Eddies from the Strait of Gibraltar are oceans. To understand the role of eddies in mixing the oceans,
formed in the salty water of the Mediterranean as it sinks and we need more data and better tracking of eddy size, position,
spreads out into the Atlantic 500–1000 m (1600–3300 ft) down; and rate of dissipation. Satellites are important tools for de-
these eddies have been nicknamed “Meddies.” Deep-water tecting surface eddies because they can precisely measure tem-
eddies near Cape Hatteras may come from the eastern and west- perature, increased elevation, and light reflection of the sea
ern Atlantic, the Caribbean, or Iceland. Researchers estimate that surface (fig. 8 .9). Deep-water eddies are monitored by using
some of these eddies are several years old; age determination is instruments designed to float at a mid-depth density layer. The
based on drift rates, distance from source, and biological instruments are caught up in the eddies, moving with them and
consumption of oxygen. sending out acoustic signals that are monitored through the so-
The rotational water speed in the large eddies that form far channel. In this way, the rate of deep-water eddy formation,
at the western boundary of the Gulf Stream is about 0.51 m/s the numbers of major eddies, their movements, and their life
(1 knot), but because of the water’s density, the force of the spans can be observed.
212 Sverdrup−Armbrust: An
Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s
9. The Surface Currents Text © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

8.5 Convergence and Divergence known as Langmuir cells. These cells are composed of paired
right- and left-handed helixes (fig. 8.10). The spacing between
The convergence and divergence zones discussed in this the windrows varies between 5 and 50 m (16 and 160 ft), and
chapter are the product of wind-driven surface currents that the rows are closer together if the thermocline depth is shal-
produce large-scale areas of convergence and divergence at low. The vertical extent of these Langmuir cells is 4–10 m
the sea surface. For example, convergence zones are at the (12–30 ft). The distance between rows becomes larger at
centers of the large oceanic gyres, and when wind-driven higher wind speeds. Langmuir cells are not long-lasting but
surface currents collide or are forced against landmasses, help to mix the surface waters and organize the distribution
they produce convergences. When surface currents move of suspended organic matter in convergence and divergence
away from each other or away from a landmass, they produce a zones. Sinking particles and organisms tend to congregate at
surface divergence. Upwellings and downwellings of this type depth in the regions of rising currents, while floating particles
are nearly permanent but do react to seasonal changes in and organisms accumulate at the surface where currents
Earth’s surface winds. converge and descend.

Permanent Zones
Convergence and divergence zones on an ocean scale are shown
in fig u re 9 .11 . T h e re a re fiv e m a jo r z o n e s o f c o n -
Langmuir Cells vergence: the tropical convergence at the equator and the
A strong wind blowing across the sea surface often causes two subtropical convergences at approximately 30°–40°N and
streaks of foam and surface debris that are seen trailing off S. These convergences mark the centers of the large ocean
in the direction the wind is blowing. These streaks are called gyres. The Arctic and Antarctic convergences are found at
windrows and may be 100 m (330 ft) in length. Windrows about 50°N and S. Surface convergence zones are regions of
mark the convergence zones of shallow circulation cells downwelling. These areas are low in nutrients and biological
productivity. There are three major diver-
w w
d ro e ) d ro gence zones: the two tropical divergences
wi
n nc n
wi ) and the Antarctic divergence. Upwelling
ir s ce) r ge i s e
e b n i ve
e br nc associated with divergences delivers nutri-
d e (d d e
d erg g d erg
an nv il n
l an nv ents to the surface waters to supply the food
o o
o am (c p we o am (c chains that support the anchovy and tropical
F U F
tuna fisheries and the richly productive
waters of Antarctica.
In coastal areas where trade winds move
the surface waters away from the western
side of continents, upwelling occurs nearly
continuously throughout the year. For ex-
ample, the trade winds drive upwellings off
the west coasts of Africa and South America
that are very productive and yield large fish
ce)

catches.
gen
iver
d
Win

g (d

Seasonal Zones
ellin

Off the west coast of North America,

Upw

downwelling and upwelling occur seasonally

as the Northern Hemisphere temperate
wind pattern changes from southerly in win-
Surface ter to northerly in summer. The downwelling
and upwelling occur because of the change
in direction of Ekman transport (fig. 8.12).
Thermocline Remember that the wind-driven Ekman
transport moves at an angle of 90° to the
Accumulating sinking material
right or left of the wind direction, depending
Figure 8.10 Langmuir cells are helixes of near-surface, wind-driven water motion. The cells on the hemisphere.
extend downwind to form windrows of surface debris along convergences. At the same time, Along this coast, the average wind
sinking materials are swept into zones of upwelling water. blows from the north in the summer, and
 213
Sverdrup−Armbrust: An 9. The Surface Currents Text
Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

ooo
60°N

oo
ooooo

o
o
oo

o o
ence
erg
ooooooooooooo nv

oo
o o o o Arctic convergen o o o o o o co
ce o o tic ce
rc ge n
A ve r o o
a l con o o o 40°N
opi c oo
Subtr o o o o o
n c al

i e oooo
c

S ub tr o p e o o o o o oo cal Tro
con v e r go o o Tropi nce dive pical
e rgenc
ooooo o T ropical diverge
nce diverg l l l l l lll
e 20°N
llll l l ll l ll l
Tropical converglen ll ll ll lll l ll oooooo
l
o o o o o o o ce
ooooooooooo ooo
Tropical co o
ll llllll llll nver o o o o al convergence
l llllll l l gen o
ce Troopoico o o o o o o o o o 0°
Tropical divergence

o
lllll lllll l ll llllll
ll llll l l
lllll ivergence Tropical diverge l l l l l l l l
enc
e
oo Tropical d nce
erg o o o o o o 20°S
nv
l co o o o S ub
a o
pic tropical
Su bt r o o oo ooo
o o o o o o convergence Subtropical converg
ooo ooooooooo enc
ooo o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o oe
ooooo o o40°S
oooo
oo
ooo oo o o o oooooooo
oooooo o o oo ooo
o
o o o r c t i c convergence ooo
o Ant a ooo
ooo oo
ooo
ooo
ooooo
oooo ooo ooo
oooo Anta ooooo l l l ll l l l l ll ll lllllllllll
llllllllll ll llll
o o o o rctic co n vergence o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o lllll 60°S
oo
oo o o o ooo ooo Antarctic divergence ll ll
llll
lll
lll
lll ll l
lll lll
lll Antar lll
lll
lll
lll
c ti c d ivergence lll
lll
ll l l l l
l lllllllllll
150°E 180° 150°W 120°W 90°W 60°W 30°W 0° 30°E 60°E 90°E 120°E

Figure 8.11 The principal zones of open-ocean surface convergence and divergence associated with wind-driven and thermohaline circulation.

density surfaces

Figure 8.12 Initially, the Ekman transport is 90° to the right of the wind along the northwest coast of North America. As water is transported
(a) away from the shore in summer or (b) toward the shore in winter, a sea surface slope is produced. This slope creates a gravitational force that
alters the direction of the Ekman transport to produce a geostrophic balance and a new steady-state direction.

227
214 Sverdrup−Armbrust: An
Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s
9. The Surface Currents Text © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

8.6 Changing Circulation Patterns

Global Currents
The interchange of water over depth and between oceans
redistributes heat, salt, and dissolved gases; use figure 8.15 to
trace the surface and deep-water flows of the world’s oceans.
Is it possible that some phenomenon could alter this water
motion and trigger changes that would have major climatic
consequences?
Studies of fossil marine organisms in cores of marine sed-
iments show that the temperature of the North Atlantic Ocean
during glacial and interglacial periods can be related to
Milankovitch cycles. These cycles are associated with regular
long-term changes in Earth’s orbit and the relation of
Earth’s axis to the Sun, producing variations in the amount and
distribution of solar radiation over Earth’s surface. Twenty-three
thousand years ago, Earth had its period of minimum solar ra-
diation. About 6000 years later, Earth endured its coldest ocean
temperatures and its maximum land ice volumes. Notice the
Figure 8.13 Coastal upwelling (shades of purple) appears as time lag between decreasing solar energy and Earth cooling.
patches of cold water extending from the coast of California. However, sediment-core analysis shows that the warming of the
oceans to today’s temperatures occurred rapidly with high so-
lar radiation values 12,000 years ago. The warming, like the
cooling, is related to the Milankovitch cycles of Earth-Sun
placement.
the net movement of the water is to the west, or 90° to the Water is a good absorber of solar radiation, but ice is a
right of the wind. This action results in the offshore transport poor absorber and a good reflector, so the land ice melted
of the surface w ater and the upw elling of deeper w ater slowly as the oceans warmed rapidly. Eleven thousand years
along the coast to replace it. The upwelling zone is evident ago, the surface temperatures of the water in the North Atlantic
from central California to Vancouver Island (fig. 8.13). In and the air temperatures in northern Europe decreased sud-
winter, the winds blow from the south; the wind-driven surface denly; the sudden decrease was unrelated to the long-term so-
w aters m ove to the east, onshore against the coast; and lar cycles. The temperatures remained low for about 700 years
downwelling occurs (fig. 8.14). The summer upwelling pattern in a mini-ice age; large changes (20%) in atmospheric carbon
is pattern is what produces the band of cold coastal water dioxide gas trapped in ice cores of Greenland are associated
at San Francisco that helps cause the frequent summer fogs. with this period. These changes are interpreted to mean that
Because of the lack of land at the middle latitudes in the large global atmospheric changes occurred, and at the same
Southern Hemisphere, this type of seasonal upwelling is less time, there was localized cooling of Europe and the North
common. Atlantic. This could not have happened unless major
Convergence and divergence of surface currents result changes occurred in the ocean circulation system that trans-
not only in upwellings and downwellings but also in the ports heat and carbon dioxide.
mixing of water from different geographic areas. Waters carried The required connections between global atmospheric
by the surface currents converge, share properties due to changes and ocean circulation during the time of this mini-ice
mixing, and form new water mixtures with specific ranges age have led Wallace Broecker of Lamont Doherty Geo-
of temperature and salinity, which then sink to their appropriate physical Observatory to think that something triggered a sud-
density levels. After sinking, the water moves horizontally, den shutdown of the circulation of the North Atlantic.
blending and sharing its properties with adjacent water, Broecker suggests that some event prevented the transport of
and eventually, it rises to the surface at a new location. This warm surface water northward and interfered with the for-
process is known as caballing . Thermohaline circulation and mation of North Atlantic deep water and in so doing greatly
wind-driven surface currents are closely related. The connections reduced the deep water flowing south. Under such conditions,
are so close among formation of water mixtures, upwelling worldwide oceanic circulation would change, and the
and downw elling, and convergence and divergence that oceans’ ability to transport and store carbon dioxide would be
it is difficult to assign a priority of importance to one process altered. A change in the carbon dioxide storage capacity of the
over another. Changes in these flows and events that might oceans requires a corresponding change in atmospheric car-
cause such changes are discussed in section 8.6. bon dioxide levels.
Broecker has proposed that the trigger for such an episode
was a sudden change in the location where meltwater from the
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Oceans, Tenth Edition

Figure 8.14 Surface winds produce surface divergences and convergences that create areas of upwelling and downwelling. Average surface wind
stress values were used to produce this model of global upwelling and downwelling for January (a) and July (b). Negative values indicate
downwelling. Speed of vertical motion is given in centimeters per day.
229
216 Sverdrup−Armbrust: An
Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s
9. The Surface Currents Text © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

Figure 8.15 The combined wind-driven and thermohaline flow of ocean water within and between oceans circulates at the surface (yellow arrows)
and at depth (green arrows). Cold surface water sinks to the sea floor in the North Atlantic Ocean, then flows south to be further cooled by the
Antarctic Bottom water formed in the Weddell Sea. This deep water moves eastward around Antarctica, feeding into the surface layer of the Indian
Ocean and into the deep basins of the Pacific Ocean. A return flow of surface water from the Pacific and Indian Oceans moves north to replace the
surface water in the North Atlantic Ocean.

receding North American ice sheet entered the Atlantic Ocean. determine the water temperature and (2) the salt content of
Large quantities of cold, low-density, low-salinity water entering water found between the grains of age-dated sediments. This
the oceans would significantly affect the salinity and density of research indicates that during the last glacial maximum
the North Atlantic’s surface waters. Geologic studies support (LGM), the deep waters of the Pacific, Southern, and Atlantic
Broecker’s ideas. We know that the majority of the meltwater Oceans were about the same temperature but that variations in
from the early stages of the receding glaciers in North America salinity existed over time between the oceans. This data indi-
converged on the Mississippi River system and drained into the cate that during the LGM, the density stratification in the deep
Gulf of Mexico, not directly into the Atlantic. But gradually, ocean was salinity-controlled and not temperature-controlled,
as the ice margin receded, meltwater was channeled through as it is today. During the LGM, the deep water with the great-
the Hudson River drainage system, the Great Lakes and the est salinity was formed in the Southern Ocean; this salinity
St. Lawrence River valley, and then into the North Atlantic. The control of deep-ocean density suggests the freshwater
result was a diluting and cooling of the Atlantic surface water. budget at the poles was also different at that time. It is possi-
At the same time, the low-salinity surface water did not sink, ble that a “salt switch” exists that abruptly changes the mode
and, therefore, the production of North Atlantic deep water was of deep-water circulation when sufficient fresh water is sud-
slowed, reducing the northward flow of warm Gulf Stream wa- denly added or withdrawn from the sea at high latitudes.
ter and affecting the circulation in all oceans. This event ceased Understanding what happens to cause such changes in deep-
as rapidly as it had started. As the melting of the glaciers slowed, water circulation is a key to understanding how climate changes
the influx of meltwater was reduced. Surface warming and evap- relate to ocean conditions.
oration increased surface water density, and the formation of
North Atlantic deep water resumed. The circulation of the North
Atlantic began a rapid recovery. North Pacific Oscillations
Sediment cores obtained by the Ocean Drilling Program W. James Ingraham, Jr., an oceanographer at NOAA’s Seattle
have allowed measurements of (1) oxygen isotopes to laboratory, has developed a North Pacific Current model, or
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Oceans, Tenth Edition

Ocean Drifters

I n May 1990, a severe storm in the North Pacific caused the

container ship Hansa Carrier, en route from Korea to the United
States, to lose overboard twenty-one deck-cargo containers,
each approximately 40 ft long (box fig. 1). Among the items lost were
39,466 pairs of Nike brand athletic shoes, and these began wash-
ing up along the beaches of Washington, Oregon, and British Co-
lumbia six months to a year later. Although the shoes had been
drifting in the ocean for almost a year, they were wearable after
washing and having the barnacles and the oil removed. However,
the shoes of a pair had not been tied together for shipping, and pairs
did not come ashore together. As beach residents recovered the
shoes (some with a retail value of $100 a pair), swap meets were
held in coastal communities to match the pairs.
In May 1991, I was having lunch with my parents, Gene and
Paul, and Gene pointed out the news of the beached Nikes. I was
intrigued and realized that 78,932 shoes was a very large number
of drifting objects, compared with the 33,869 drift bottles used in a
1956–59 study of North Pacific currents. I contacted Steve McLeod,
an Oregon artist and shoe collector who had information on loca-
tions and dates for some 1600 shoes that had been found between
northern California and the Queen Charlotte Islands in British Co-
lumbia. I contacted additional beachcombers and constructed a
map showing the times and locations where batches of 100 or more
shoes had been found (box fig. 2). Next, I visited Jim Ingraham at
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service’s offices in Seattle to
study his computer model of Pacific Ocean currents and wind sys-
tems north of 30°N latitude. Using the spill date (May 27, 1990), the
spill location (161°W; 48°N), and the dates of the first shoe landings Box Figure 1 After the storm, the Hansa Carrier docked in Seattle.

Box Figure 2 Site where 80,000 Nike shoes washed overboard on May 27, 1990, and dates and locations where 1300 shoes were discovered by
beachcombers (dots at upper right). Drift of the shoes was simulated with a computer model (colored plume).

(continued)
218 Sverdrup−Armbrust: An
Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s
9. The Surface Currents Text © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

Ocean Drifters (continued)

on Vancouver Island and Washington

beaches between Thanksgiving and
Christmas 1990, I found that the shoe drift
rates agreed with the computer model’s
predicted currents.
News of Jim’s and my interest in the
shoe spill reached an Oregon news re-
porter, and the story was then picked up
by the Associated Press, resulting in a
quick dissemination of the news nation-
wide. Readers sent letters describing
their own shoe finds, and even reports of
single shoes were valuable because we
found that each shoe had within it a Nike
purchase order number that could be
traced to a specific cargo container. We
were able to determine from these num-
bers that only four of the five containers
broke open so that only 61,820 shoes were
left afloat.
The computer model and previous ex-
periments with satellite-tracked drifters
showed that there would have been little
scattering of the shoes as the ocean Box Figure 3 Projected drift tracks for the sneakers for the years 1951, 1973, 1982, 1988, and
currents carried them eastward and 1990, based on computer modeling of ocean currents and weather.
approximately 1500 miles from the spill site
to shore, but the shoes were found scat-
tered from California to northern British Columbia. The north-south predicted drift routes. If the shoes had been lost in 1951, they would
scattering is related to coastal currents that flowed northward in have traveled in the loop of the Alaska Current. If they had been lost
winter, carrying the shoes to the Queen Charlotte Islands, and in 1982, they would have been carried far to the north during the
southward in spring and summer, bringing the shoes to Oregon and very strong El Niño of 1982–83, and if lost in 1973, they would have
California. come ashore at the Columbia River.
I was interested to see where the shoes might have gone if they Another spill event occurred in January 1992, when twelve
had been lost on the same date but under different conditions in cargo containers were lost from another vessel in the North Pacific
other years. The computer allowed simulations for May 27 of each at 180°W, 45°N. One of these containers held 29,000 small, float-
year from 1946–91. Box figure 3 shows the wide variation in model able, plastic, bathtub toys. Blue turtles, yellow ducks, red beavers,

North Pacific Ocean Surface Current Simulation. When the twenty-three- and twenty-six-year periods common. Tree-ring
model was used to map current patterns for North Pacific data and current oscillations agree.
surface water between 1902 and 1997, it showed a north-south The climate pattern is presently warm and dry with a
current oscillation associated with changes in atmospheric northerly current flow that has not changed since 1967. This is
pressure and climate shifts. Cold and wet conditions are one of the longest periods without a reversal that has been found
associated with a southerly current flow, and warm and dry during the last 500 years. Following the wet conditions of the
conditions predominate with a northerly flow (fig. 8.16). This 1998–99 winter and the 1999–2000 La Niña, the winter of
evidence was compared to climate-sensitive tree-ring data 2000–2001 in the Pacific Northwest was exceptionally warm
from western juniper trees in eastern Oregon. These trees show and dry, and the winter of 2002 again brought wet El Niño con-
wide rings during periods when currents were displaced to the ditions. These current shifts are associated with changes in
north and narrow rings when currents were displaced to the atmospheric pressure, winds, precipitation, and water temper-
south. Tree-ring data cover many more years than oceano- ature; together, they are known as the Pacific Decadal Oscilla-
graphic and meteorological data, and from the tree rings, it tion, or PDO. Because the PDO affects coastal surface
is calculated that thirty-four north-south oscillations have temperatures from California to Alaska, it is thought to affect the
occurred since the time of Columbus. The most common time survival of fish stocks of the area, especially salmon. Com-
period between fast and slow growth is seventeen years, with mercial fishing is discussed further in chapter 13.
 219
Sverdrup−Armbrust: An 9. The Surface Currents Text
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Introduction to the World’s Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

turned south, they might have merged with the

Kuroshio Current and been carried past the lo-
cation where they were spilled.
Two thousand five hundred cases of
hockey gloves (34,300 gloves) were lost from a
container ship in the North Pacific after a De-
cember 1994 fire. In August 1995, a fishing ves-
sel found seven gloves 800 miles west of the
Oregon coast, and by January 1996, the
barnacle-covered gloves began to arrive on
Washington beaches. The most northerly
glove sighting came from Prince William
Sound, Alaska, in August 1996. The gloves are
expected to follow the tub toys along the coast
of Alaska and into the Arctic. More than 4 million
Lego pieces lost off the English coast in 1997
are expected to be distributed along Northern
Hemisphere shores by 2020.
And one more time, as it is said, what goes
Box Figure 4 Shoes and toys after their rescue from Pacific cargo spills. around comes around. On December 15,
2002, a ship carrying cargo containers on its
and green frogs began arriving on beaches near Sitka, Alaska, in way from Los Angeles to Tacoma, Washington, ran into 25-ft seas
November 1992. Advertisements asking for news of toy strandings off Cape Mendocino in northern California. The vessel rolled and
were placed in local newspapers and the Canadian lighthouse several cargo containers fell overboard. A cargo container of 33,000
keepers’ newsletter. Beachcombers reported a total of about 400 Nike athletic shoes was among those lost, and by mid-January
of these toys (box fig. 4). 2003, the shoes were coming ashore along the Washington coast.
None of the toys was found south of 55°N latitude, suggest- Riding the Davidson Current northward, the shoes had traveled
ing that once the toys reached the vicinity of Sitka, they drifted to about 833 km (450 nautical miles). Once again, the pairs of shoes
the north. This time, the computer model showed that if the toys were not tied together, and notices were posted in the search
had continued to float with the Alaska Current, they would have for mates.
moved with the Alaska stream through the Aleutian Islands into Curtis C. Ebbesmeyer, Ph.D.
the Bering Sea. Some may have continued across the Bering Sea Seattle, Washington
into the Arctic Ocean to the vicinity of Point Barrow and from
there would have drifted north of Siberia with the Arctic pack ice.
Eventually, some plastic turtles, ducks, beavers, or frogs may To Learn More About Ocean Drifters
have come to rest on the coast of western Europe. If the toys had Krajick, K. 2001. Message in a Bottle. Smithsonian 32 (4): 36–47.

years. Because of the alternation of climatic conditions, this is

North Atlantic Oscillations referred to as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). Investiga-
A large pool of cold, low-salinity surface water appeared off tors are finding pieces of the puzzle that are associated with
Greenland, north of Iceland, in 1968. It was about 0.5‰ less NAO but have not yet found the factors that control the system.
salty and 1° and 2°C colder than usual. Within two years, this A counterclockwise wind circulation centered over Iceland and
cool pool had moved west into the Labrador Sea off eastern a high-pressure clockwise circulation residing near the Azores
Canada; then it crossed the Atlantic and, in the mid-1970s, are the usual situation. If the air-pressure differences between
moved north into the Norwegian Sea. It had returned to its place these two locations are large, then strong westerly winds supply
of origin by the early 1980s. Follow the path of this pool in Europe with heat from the North Atlantic Current. If the air-
figure 8.17. During this period, harsh winters plagued Europe, pressure difference decreases, then weaker-than-normal west-
and the entire Northern Hemisphere had cooler-than-average erlies drive less warm water into the Norwegian Current and less
temperatures for more than ten years. heat is delivered to Europe. The periods of 1950–71 and 1976–80
Recent studies have further investigated the North Atlantic, were recognized as prolonged cool periods for Europe. The
seeking to improve our ability to predict climate. The new analy- winds may also drive cold, low-salinity water from the Arctic
sis shows pools of warm and cool surface water that circle the into the area where North Atlantic deep water is formed. The
North Atlantic; the pools seem to have life spans of four to ten influx of this water may cause a small-scale reduction in the
220 Sverdrup−Armbrust: An
Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s
9. The Surface Currents Text © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

assembled into a model to describe interactions between

the oceans and the atmosphere. Supercomputers are
needed to make the millions of calculations that a model
requires to predict changes in environmental conditions
over a given time period. This process is repeated many
times to predict conditions. Models are verified and
tuned by adjusting the equations so that the predicted
model changes closely agree with changes that have been
56° N
observed in the past. Modeling is nearly as much an art
152°
W W
6° as a science. Sometimes predictions work; sometimes
12
they don’t. It depends on how well the model has been
conceived, how much data are available, and the capa-
bility of the computers to process the data. The model
°W may be constructed to approximate the whole ocean-
49° N Ocean 139
weather atmosphere system or to apply only to part of Earth.
station Eventually, long-term predictions concerning the
“PAPA” oceans and the atmosphere will become possible; how
Area of northerly flowing currents we use such information and whether it will benefit
ocean resources are not yet clear.
Area of southerly flowing currents

Figure 8.16 North-south current shifts in the Northeast Pacific are associated 8.7 Measuring the Currents
with changes in atmospheric pressure, winds, precipitation, and water temperature.
This phenomenon is known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Direct measurements of currents fall into two groups:
(1) those that follow a parcel of the moving water and
(2) those that measure the speed and direction of the wa-
ter as it passes a fixed point. Moving waters may be followed with
buoys designed to float at predetermined depths. These buoys
signal their positions acoustically to a research vessel or shore sta-
tion; their paths are followed and their speed and displacement
due to the current are calculated. Autonomous profilers such as
the Argo drifter (see fig. 8.14) also measure currents. Surface
water may be labeled with buoys or with dye that can be pho-
tographed from the air. Buoy positions may also be tracked by
satellites using GPS. A series of pictures or position fixes may be
used to calculate the speed and direction of a current from the
buoys’ drift rates. Buoys can be instrumented to measure other
water properties such as temperature and salinity (fig. 8.18).

Figure 8.17 Purple arrows follow the path of the North Atlantic
cool pool. Red arrows show warm-water flow from the Gulf Stream.

formation of North Atlantic deep water and an accompanying

reduction of warm surface water moving northward. How much
freshening is required to change ocean circulation? This ques-
tion is unanswered, but if the current melting of Arctic sea ice
continues, more information may soon be available.
Natural cycles operate at a variety of time scales and mag-
nitudes, and they interact and react in ways we do not fully com-
prehend. In the enormously complex interactions that they are
observing, oceanographers and meteorologists are beginning to Figure 8.18 Retrieving an oceanographic research buoy in the
identify the strands that united the ocean-atmosphere and the Arabian Sea (northwest Indian Ocean). This buoy is equipped with
world current systems. Scientists use mathematical equations weather, radiation, and water property sensors.
 221
Sverdrup−Armbrust: An 9. The Surface Currents Text
Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

(a) (b)

Figure 8.19 (a) An internally recording Aanderaa current meter. The vane orients the meter to the current while the rotor determines current speed.
(b) A Doppler current meter sends out sound pulses in four directions. The frequency shift of the returning echoes allows the detection of the current.
These meters are also equipped with salinity-temperature-depth sensors as well as instruments for measuring water turbidity and oxygen. The data
may be stored internally and collected at another time.

A variation of this technique uses drift

bottles. Thousands of sealed bottles, each
containing a postcard, are released at a
known position. When the bottles are
washed ashore, the finders are requested to
record the time and location of the find and
return the card. In this case, only the re-
lease point, the recovery points, and the
elapsed time are known; the actual path of
motion is assumed. See the box titled
“Ocean Drifters.”
Sensors used to measure current speed
and direction at fixed locations are called
current meters. The current meters used by
oceanographers over the last twenty years
include a rotor to measure speed and a vane
to measure direction of flow (fig. 8.19a). If
the current meter is lowered from a station-
ary vessel, the measurements can be re-
turned to the ship by a cable or stored by the
meter for reading upon retrieval. If the cur-
rent meter is attached to an independent,
bottom-moored buoy system, the signals can
be transmitted to the ship as radio signals or
stored on tape in the meter, to be removed Figure 8.20 Taut-wire moorage. (a) Recovery is accomplished by retrieving the surface buoy
when the buoy and meter are retrieved. and hauling in the wire. If the surface buoy is lost, it is possible to grapple for the ground wire.
To measure a current at a location, a (b) In this system, a sound signal disconnects the anchor, and the equipment floats to the surface.
current meter must not move. Although a
vessel can be moored in shallow water so that it does not move, a buoy system that is entirely submerged and not affected by
it is very difficult, if not impossible, to moor a ship or surface winds or waves. See figure 8.20 for a diagram of this taut-wire
platform in the open sea so that it will not move and thus move moorage system. The string of anchors, current meters, wire,
the current meter. The solution is to attach the current meter to and floats is preassembled on deck and is launched, surface
222 Sverdrup−Armbrust: An
Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s
9. The Surface Currents Text © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

float first, over the stern of the slowly moving ship. As the ship
moves away, the float, meters, and cable are stretched out on
the surface. When the vessel reaches the sampling site, the an-
chor is pushed overboard to pull the entire string down into the
water. The floats and meters are retrieved by grappling from the
surface for the ground wire or by sending a sound signal to a
special acoustical link (fig. 8.20b), which detaches the wire
from the anchor. The anchor is discarded, and the buoyed
equipment returns to the surface. The technique is straightfor-
ward, but many problems can occur in launching, finding, and
retrieving instruments from the heaving deck of a ship at sea.
Whenever oceanographers send their increasingly sophisticated
equipment over the side, they must cross their fingers and hope
to see it again.
A new technique for measuring currents does not need the
energy of the moving water to run the rotor of a current meter.
This technique uses sound pulses and takes advantage of the
change in the pitch, or frequency, of sound as it is reflected from
particles suspended in the moving water. When sound is re-
flected off particles moving toward the meter, the pitch in-
creases; when the sound is reflected off particles moving away
from the meter, the pitch decreases. This is the Doppler effect;
the same effect increases the pitch of the horn or siren of an ap-
proaching vehicle and decreases the pitch as the vehicle passes
and moves away. To use this effect, the sound source is mounted
on a vessel or a buoy system, or placed on the sea floor. A
seafloor-mounted Doppler current meter is shown in figure
8.21. Four beams of sound pulses, set at a precisely known fre-
quency, are sent out at right angles to each other. The change in
pitch of the returning echoes provides the speed and direction
of the water moving along each sound pulse path, and the di-
rection of the resulting current is computed by comparison to
an internal compass. Figure 8.21 Retrieving a Doppler current meter from the sea floor.
Using satellite altimeter data, scientists are able to map the The sound signals from the meter are analyzed to determine the speed
topography of the sea surface on a global scale. Surface eleva- and direction of the current. Courtesy of Mark Holmes, School of
tions and depressions are analyzed to determine the roles of Oceanography, University of Washington.
gravity, periodic tidal motion, air pressure, and geostrophic flow
in producing sea-surface topography. Large amounts of data are
required if researchers are to distinguish between the assortment requires the use of turbine-driven generators anchored in place
of interacting currents. Oceanwide measurements of this type in the current stream. Large turbine blades would be driven by
were not possible until satellite coverage of the oceans became the moving water, just as windmill blades are moved by the
available. wind; these blades could be used to turn generators and to har-
ness the energy of the water flow. (See also the discussion on en-
ergy from tidal currents in chapter 10.)
8.8 Practical Considerations: The Florida Current and the Gulf Stream are reasonably
swift and continuous currents moving close to shore in ar-
Energy from the Currents eas where there is a demand for power. If ocean currents are
The massive oceanic surface currents of the world are untapped developed as energy sources, these currents are among the
reservoirs of energy. Their total energy flux has been estimated most likely. But most of the wind-driven oceanic currents
at 2.8  1014 (280 trillion) watt-hours. Because of their link to generally move too slowly and are found too far from where
winds and surface heating processes, the ocean currents are con- the power is needed. In addition, the impact on other uses
sidered as indirect sources of solar energy. If the total energy of of the sea—transport, fishing, recreation—needs to be con-
a current was removed by conversion to electrical power, that sidered. The cost of constructing, mooring, and maintaining
current would cease to exist; but only a small portion of any current-driven power-generating devices in the open sea
ocean current’s energy can be harnessed, owing to the current’s makes them noncompetitive with other sources of power at
size. Harnessing the energy from these open-ocean currents this time.
 223
Sverdrup−Armbrust: An 9. The Surface Currents Text
Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

Summary
Winds push the surface water 45° to the right of their direc- Upwelling and downwelling may be shallow and short-lived,
tion in the Northern Hemisphere and 45° to the left in the as in Langmuir cells, or these processes may involve large
Southern Hemisphere. Wind moves the water in layers that are volumes and large areas of the oceans. Upwelling occurs
deflected by the Coriolis effect to form the Ekman spiral; net nearly continuously along the western sides of the continents
flow over the depth of the spiral is deflected 90°. in the trade-wind belts, where surface water diverges from the
Geostrophic flow is produced when the force of gravity bal- coast. Seasonal upwellings and downwellings occur in
ances the Coriolis effect. Large surface gyres are observed in coastal areas that have changing wind patterns and an alter-
each ocean. Northern Hemisphere gyres rotate clockwise, and nating coastal flow of water onshore and offshore due to the
Southern Hemisphere gyres rotate counterclockwise. The cur- Ekman transport.
rents of the northern Indian Ocean change with the seasonal Cyclic global circulation changes are part of Earth’s normal
monsoons. dynamic system. Sudden changes in global ocean circulation
Large oceanic current systems have names and descriptions may lead to major climate changes and are thought to be trig-
based on their average locations. The water transport and speed gered by localized events in the North Atlantic. Both the North
of a current are affected by the current’s cross-sectional area, by Pacific and the North Atlantic show decadal oscillations in cur-
other currents, by westward intensification, and by wind speed. rent flow and climate.
Eddies are formed at the surface when a fast-moving current de- A variety of techniques are available to measure currents:
velops waves along its boundary that break off from the parent by following the water, by measuring the water’s speed and di-
current. Eddies occur at all depths, wander long distances, and rection as it moves past a fixed point, or by using changes in the
gradually lose their identity. frequency of sound.
Downwelling is produced by converging surface currents, Deriving energy from the oceanic current flows is not prac-
and upwelling is produced by diverging surface currents. tical at the present time.

Key Terms
Ekman spiral Langmuir cell tropical divergence
Ekman transport tropical convergence Antarctic divergence
gyre subtropical convergence drift bottle
geostrophic flow Arctic convergence current meter
western intensification Antarctic convergenc Doppler effect
eddy

Study Questions
1. According to the net transport of the Ekman spiral, wind- 5. Explain how wind and current directions are specified.
driven water is directed toward the center of a large oceanic 6. What are eddies? How are they formed? Where can they be
current gyre. Why does the current not flow to the gyre’s cen- found?
ter but instead flows in a clockwise circular path about a gyre 7. Explain why the large Northern Hemisphere mid-ocean gyres
in the Northern Hemisphere? tend to flow in a circular path, although the driving force of the
2. How is wind-driven Ekman transport related to coastal up- winds is to the east on the higher-latitude side of the gyre and
welling and downwelling? to the west on the lower-latitude side.
3. On a map of the world, plot the oceanographic equator, the six 8. Explain why surface convergences are located at the centers of
major wind belts, the current system of each ocean, and the the large subtropical gyres in both the northern and southern
main areas of surface convergence and divergence. Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
4. Why does a flow of water that is constant in volume transport 9. Explain why upwellings on the lee side of continents at sub-
per time increase its speed when it passes through a narrow tropical latitudes function continuously while upwelling on the
opening? west side of North America is seasonal.
224 Sverdrup−Armbrust: An
Aquatic Science
Introduction to the World’s
9. The Surface Currents Text © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2009
Oceans, Tenth Edition

10. Why is there a net northward flow of surface water across the 14. If the production of North Atlantic deep water were severely
equator in the Atlantic Ocean but not in the Pacific Ocean? reduced, what changes would you expect to find in (a) Gulf
11. How have tree-ring data helped describe climate and ocean Stream flow, (b) upwelling in the Pacific Ocean, (c) world sea-
current fluctuations in the North Pacific? surface temperatures?
12. How can the cross section of a current and its average speed 15. How are sound and the Doppler effect used to measure ocean
be used to calculate the volume of water transport? currents?
13. Why is there a net flow of surface water from the Pacific
through the Indian to the Atlantic Ocean?