As a rule, their movement occurs in a strictly defined direction and can be of great length. The current map below displays them in full.
Water flows are of considerable size: they can reach tens or even hundreds of kilometers wide, and have a great depth (hundreds of meters). The speed of oceanic and sea currents is different - on average, it is 1-3 thousand m / h. But there are also so-called high-speed ones. Their speed can reach 9,000 m/hour.
Where do currents come from?
The causes of water currents may be a sharp change in water temperature due to heating, or, conversely, cooling. They are also affected by different densities, for example, at a place where several flows (marine and oceanic) collide, precipitation, evaporation. But basically, cold and warm currents arise due to the action of winds. Therefore, the direction of the largest oceanic water flows depends mainly on the air currents of the planet.
Currents formed by winds
An example of constantly blowing winds is the trade winds. They begin their life from 30 latitudes. The currents created by these air masses are called trade winds. There are the Southern Trade Wind and Northern Trade Wind Currents. In the temperate zone, such water flows are formed under the influence of westerly winds. They form one of the largest currents on the planet. There are two cycles of water flow in the northern and southern hemispheres: cyclonic and anticyclonic. Their formation is influenced by the inertial force of the Earth.
Types of currents
Mixed, neutral, cold and warm currents are varieties of circulating masses on the planet. When the temperature of the water in the stream is lower than the temperature of the surrounding water, this is If, on the contrary, it is its warm variety. Neutral currents do not differ from the temperature of surrounding waters. And mixed ones can change throughout their entire length. It is worth noting that there is no constant temperature indicator for currents. This figure is very relative. It is determined by comparing the surrounding water masses.
In tropical latitudes, warm currents circulate along the eastern margins of the continents. Cold ones - along the western ones. In temperate latitudes, warm currents pass along the western shores, and cold ones - along the eastern ones. The variety can be determined by another factor. So, there is an easier rule: cold currents go towards the equator, and warm currents - from it.
Meaning
It’s worth talking about it in more detail. Cold and warm currents play an important role on planet Earth. The significance of circulating water masses is that due to their movement, solar heat is redistributed on the planet. Warm currents increase the air temperature of nearby areas, while cold currents lower it. Formed on water, water flows have a serious impact on the mainland. In areas where warm currents constantly pass, the climate is humid, where there are cold currents, on the contrary, it is dry. Ocean currents also contribute to the migration of oceanic ichthyofauna. Under their influence, plankton moves, and fish migrate after them.
We can give examples of warm and cold currents. Let's start with the first variety. The largest water flows are: Gulf Stream, Norwegian, North Atlantic, Northern and Southern Trade Winds, Brazilian, Kuroshio, Madagascar and others. The coldest ocean currents: Somali, Labrador, California.
Major currents
The largest warm current on the planet is the Gulf Stream. This is a meridional circulating flow that carries 75 million tons of water every second. The width of the Gulf Stream is from 70 to 90 km. Thanks to him, Europe receives a comfortable mild climate. It follows from this that cold and warm currents largely affect the life of all living organisms on the planet.
Of the zonal, cold streams, the current is of the greatest importance. In the southern hemisphere, not far from the coast of Antarctica, there are no island or continental accumulations. A large area of the planet is completely filled with water. Here, the Indian, the Pacific converge into one stream and unite into a separate huge reservoir. Some scientists recognize its existence and call it Southern. It is here that the largest flow of water is formed - the current of the Western Winds. Every second it carries a flow of water that is three times larger than the Gulf Stream.
Canary or cold?
Currents can change their temperature. For example, the flow starts from cold masses. Then it warms up and becomes warm. One of the options for such a circulating water mass is the Canary Current. It originates in the northeast Atlantic Ocean. It is directed by a cold stream along Europe. Passing along the western coast of Africa, it becomes warm. This current has long been used by sailors to travel.
Many people know about the Gulf Stream, which, carrying huge masses of water from equatorial latitudes to polar latitudes, literally warms the north of Western Europe and Scandinavia. But few people know that there are other warm and cold currents of the Atlantic Ocean. How do they affect the climate of coastal areas? Our article will talk about this. In fact, there are a lot of currents in the Atlantic. Let us briefly list them for general development. These are the West Greenland, Angolan, Antilles, Benguela, Guinea, Lomonosov, Brazilian, Guiana, Azores, Gulf Stream, Irminger, Canary, East Icelandic, Labrador, Portuguese, North Atlantic, Florida, Falklands, North Equatorial, South Trade Wind, and also the Equatorial countercurrent . Not all of them have a big impact on the climate. Some of them are generally part or fragments of main, larger currents. These are what we will discuss in our article.
Why do currents form?
Large invisible “rivers without banks” are constantly circulating in the World Ocean. Water is generally a very dynamic element. But with rivers everything is clear: they flow from source to mouth due to the difference in altitude between these points. But what makes huge masses of water move within the ocean? Of the many reasons, the main ones are two: trade winds and changes in atmospheric pressure. Because of this, currents are divided into drift and barogradient. The first are formed by trade winds - winds constantly blowing in one direction. These are the majority of currents. Mighty rivers carry large amounts of water into the seas, different from sea water in density and temperature. Such flows are called drainage, gravitational and frictional. One should also take into account the great extent from north to south that the Atlantic Ocean has. Currents in this water area therefore have a more meridional than latitudinal direction.
What are trade winds
Winds are the main reason for the movement of huge masses of water in the World Ocean. But what are trade winds? The answer should be sought in the equatorial regions. The air there warms up more than in other latitudes. It rises up and spreads through the upper layers of the troposphere towards the two poles. But already at a latitude of 30 degrees, having cooled thoroughly, it descends. This creates a circulation of air masses. A zone of low pressure appears in the equator region, and a high pressure zone in tropical latitudes. And here the rotation of the Earth around its axis manifests itself. If it were not for it, the trade winds would blow from the tropics of both hemispheres to the equator. But, as our planet rotates, the winds are deflected, taking on a westerly direction. This is how the trade winds form the main currents of the Atlantic Ocean. In the Northern Hemisphere they move clockwise, and in the Southern Hemisphere they move counterclockwise. This happens because in the first case the trade winds blow from the northeast, and in the second case from the southeast.
Impact on climate
Based on the fact that the main currents originate in equatorial and tropical regions, it would be reasonable to assume that they are all warm. But this does not always happen. The warm current in the Atlantic Ocean, having reached the polar latitudes, does not fade away, but, having made a smooth circle, turns back, but has already cooled considerably. This can be observed in the example of the Gulf Stream. It carries warm masses of water from the Sargasso Sea to northern Europe. Then, under the influence of the Earth's rotation, it deviates to the west. Under the name of the Labrador Current, it descends along the coast of the North American continent to the south, cooling the coastal areas of Canada. It should be said that these masses of water are called warm and cold conventionally - relative to the ambient temperature. For example, in the North Cape Current, the temperature in winter is only +2 °C, and in summer - a maximum of +8 °C. But it is called warm because the water in the Barents Sea is even colder.
Main Atlantic currents in the Northern Hemisphere
Here, of course, one cannot fail to mention the Gulf Stream. But other currents passing through the Atlantic Ocean also have an important influence on the climate of nearby areas. The northeast trade wind is born near Cape Verde (Africa). It drives huge heated masses of water to the west. Crossing the Atlantic Ocean, they connect with the Antilles and Guiana currents. This intensified jet is moving towards the Caribbean Sea. After this, the waters rush north. This continuous clockwise movement is called the warm North Atlantic Current. Its edge is vague and blurry at high latitudes, while at the equator it is more distinct.
The mysterious “Current from the Gulf” (Golf-Stream)
This is the name of the current in the Atlantic Ocean, without which Scandinavia and Iceland would have turned, based on their proximity to the pole, into a land of eternal snow. It used to be thought that the Gulf Stream originated in the Gulf of Mexico. Hence the name. In fact, only a small portion of the Gulf Stream flows out of the Gulf of Mexico. The main flow comes from the Sargasso Sea. What is the mystery of the Gulf Stream? The fact is that, contrary to the rotation of the Earth, it flows not from west to east, but in the opposite direction. Its power exceeds the drainage of all the rivers on the planet. The speed of the Gulf Stream is impressive - two and a half meters per second on the surface. The current can also be traced at a depth of 800 meters. And the width of the stream is 110-120 kilometers. Due to the high speed of the current, water from equatorial latitudes does not have time to cool. The surface layer has a temperature of +25 degrees, which, of course, plays a primary role in shaping the climate of Western Europe. The mystery of the Gulf Stream also lies in the fact that it does not wash the continents anywhere. Between it and the shore there is always a strip of colder water.
Atlantic Ocean: Southern Hemisphere Currents
From the African continent to the American continent, the trade wind drives a jet, which, due to low pressure in the equatorial region, begins to deviate to the south. This is how a cycle similar to the northern one begins. However, the South Trade Wind Current moves counterclockwise. It also runs across the entire Atlantic Ocean. The Guiana, Brazilian (warm), Falklands, Benguela (cold) currents are part of this circulation.
Rivers in the middle of the ocean
Ocean or sea currents are large-scale movements of water masses in the World Ocean at speeds from 1 to 9 km/h. These streams do not move chaotically, but in a certain channel and direction, which is the main reason why they are sometimes called rivers of the oceans: the width of the largest currents can be several hundred kilometers, and the length can reach several thousand.
It has been established that water flows do not move straight, but deviate slightly to the side and are subject to the Coriolis force. In the Northern Hemisphere they almost always move clockwise, in the Southern Hemisphere it’s the other way around.. At the same time, currents located in tropical latitudes (they are called equatorial or trade winds) move mainly from east to west. The strongest currents were recorded along the eastern coasts of the continents.
Water flows do not circulate on their own, but are set in motion by a sufficient number of factors - the wind, the rotation of the planet around its axis, the gravitational fields of the Earth and the Moon, the bottom topography, the outlines of continents and islands, the difference in temperature indicators of water, its density, depth in different places in the ocean and even its physical and chemical composition.
Of all types of water flows, the most pronounced are the surface currents of the World Ocean, the depth of which is often several hundred meters. Their occurrence was influenced by trade winds constantly moving in tropical latitudes in a west-east direction. These trade winds form the huge flows of the North and South Equatorial Currents near the equator. A smaller part of these flows returns to the east, forming a countercurrent (when the movement of water occurs in the opposite direction from the movement of air masses). Most of them, when colliding with continents and islands, turn to the north or south.
Warm and cold water currents
It must be taken into account that the concepts of “cold” or “warm” currents are conditional definitions. So, despite the fact that the temperature of the water flows of the Benguela Current, which flows along the Cape of Good Hope, is 20°C, it is considered cold. But the North Cape Current, which is one of the branches of the Gulf Stream, with temperatures from 4 to 6 ° C, is warm.
This happens because cold, warm and neutral currents got their names based on a comparison of the temperature of their water with the temperature of the surrounding ocean:
- If the temperature indicators of the water flow coincide with the temperature of the surrounding waters, such a flow is called neutral;
- If the temperature of the currents is lower than the surrounding water, they are called cold. They usually flow from high latitudes to low latitudes (for example, the Labrador Current), or from areas where, due to high river flows, ocean water has a reduced salinity of surface waters;
- If the temperature of the currents is warmer than the surrounding water, then they are called warm. They move from tropical to subpolar latitudes, for example, the Gulf Stream.
Main water flows
At the moment, scientists have recorded about fifteen major oceanic water flows in the Pacific, fourteen in the Atlantic, seven in the Indian and four in the Arctic Ocean.
It is interesting that all currents of the Arctic Ocean move at the same speed - 50 cm/sec, three of them, namely the West Greenland, West Spitsbergen and Norwegian, are warm, and only the East Greenland is a cold current.
But almost all oceanic currents of the Indian Ocean are warm or neutral, with the Monsoon, Somali, Western Australian and Cape Agulhas current (cold) moving at a speed of 70 cm/sec, the speed of the rest varies from 25 to 75 cm/sec. The water flows of this ocean are interesting because, together with the seasonal monsoon winds, which change their direction twice a year, the oceanic rivers also change their course: in winter they mainly flow to the west, in summer - to the east (a phenomenon characteristic only of the Indian Ocean ).
Since the Atlantic Ocean stretches from north to south, its currents also have a meridional direction. Water flows located in the north move clockwise, in the south - counterclockwise.
A striking example of the flow of the Atlantic Ocean is the Gulf Stream, which, starting in the Caribbean Sea, carries warm waters to the north, breaking up into several side streams along the way. When the waters of the Gulf Stream find themselves in the Barents Sea, they enter the Arctic Ocean, where they cool and turn south in the form of the cold Greenland Current, after which at some stage they deviate to the west and again join the Gulf Stream, forming a vicious circle.
The currents of the Pacific Ocean are mainly latitudinal and form two huge circles: northern and southern. Since the Pacific Ocean is extremely large, it is not surprising that its water flows have a significant impact on much of our planet.
For example, trade wind water currents transport warm waters from the western tropical coasts to the eastern ones, which is why in the tropical zone the western part of the Pacific Ocean is much warmer than the opposite side. But in the temperate latitudes of the Pacific Ocean, on the contrary, the temperature is higher in the east.
Deep Currents
For quite a long time, scientists believed that deep ocean waters were almost motionless. But soon special underwater vehicles discovered both slow and fast-flowing water streams at great depths.
For example, under the Equatorial Current of the Pacific Ocean at a depth of about one hundred meters, scientists have identified the underwater Cromwell Current, moving eastward at a speed of 112 km/day.
Soviet scientists found a similar movement of water flows, but in the Atlantic Ocean: the width of the Lomonosov Current is about 322 km, and the maximum speed of 90 km/day was recorded at a depth of about one hundred meters. After this, another underwater flow was discovered in the Indian Ocean, although its speed turned out to be much lower - about 45 km/day.
The discovery of these currents in the ocean gave rise to new theories and mysteries, the main one of which is the question of why they appeared, how they were formed, and whether the entire area of the ocean is covered by currents or there is a point where the water is still.
The influence of the ocean on the life of the planet
The role of ocean currents in the life of our planet cannot be overestimated, since the movement of water flows directly affects the planet's climate, weather, and marine organisms. Many compare the ocean to a huge heat engine powered by solar energy. This machine creates a continuous water exchange between the surface and deep layers of the ocean, providing it with oxygen dissolved in water and affecting the life of marine life.
This process can be traced, for example, by considering the Peruvian Current, which is located in the Pacific Ocean. Thanks to the rise of deep waters, which raise phosphorus and nitrogen, animal and plant plankton successfully develop on the ocean surface, as a result of which the food chain is organized. Plankton is eaten by small fish, which, in turn, becomes a victim of larger fish, birds, marine mammals, which, with such food abundance, settle here, making the region one of the most highly productive areas of the World Ocean.
It also happens that a cold current becomes warm: the average ambient temperature rises by several degrees, which causes warm tropical showers to fall on the ground, which, once in the ocean, kill fish accustomed to cold temperatures. The result is deplorable - a huge amount of dead small fish ends up in the ocean, large fish leave, fishing stops, birds leave their nests. As a result, the local population is deprived of fish, crops that were beaten by downpours, and profits from the sale of guano (bird droppings) as fertilizer. It can often take several years to restore the previous ecosystem.
Where do currents come from?
The causes of water currents may be a sharp change in water temperature due to heating, or, conversely, cooling. They are also affected by different densities, for example, at a place where several flows (marine and oceanic) collide, precipitation, evaporation. But basically, cold and warm currents arise due to the action of winds. Therefore, the direction of the largest oceanic water flows depends mainly on the air currents of the planet.
Currents formed by winds
An example of constantly blowing winds is the trade winds. They begin their life from 30 latitudes. The currents created by these air masses are called trade winds. There are the Southern Trade Wind and Northern Trade Wind Currents. In the temperate zone, such water flows are formed under the influence of westerly winds. They form one of the largest currents on the planet. There are two cycles of water flow in the northern and southern hemispheres: cyclonic and anticyclonic. Their formation is influenced by the inertial force of the Earth. 
Types of currents
Mixed, neutral, cold and warm currents are types of circulating masses on the planet. When the temperature of the water in a stream is lower than the temperature of the surrounding water, it is a cold current. If, on the contrary, it is a warm variety. Neutral currents do not differ from the temperature of surrounding waters. And mixed ones can change throughout their entire length. It is worth noting that there is no constant temperature indicator for currents. This figure is very relative. It is determined by comparing the surrounding water masses.
In tropical latitudes, warm currents circulate along the eastern margins of the continents. Cold ones - along the western ones. In temperate latitudes, warm currents pass along the western shores, and cold ones - along the eastern ones. The variety can be determined by another factor. So, there is an easier rule: cold currents go towards the equator, and warm currents - from it.
Meaning
It’s worth talking about it in more detail. Cold and warm currents play an important role on planet Earth. The significance of circulating water masses is that due to their movement, solar heat is redistributed on the planet. Warm currents increase the air temperature of nearby areas, while cold currents lower it. Formed on water, water flows have a serious impact on the mainland. In areas where warm currents constantly pass, the climate is humid, where there are cold currents, on the contrary, it is dry. Ocean currents also contribute to the migration of oceanic ichthyofauna. Under their influence, plankton moves, and fish migrate after them. 
We can give examples of warm and cold currents. Let's start with the first variety. The largest water flows are: Gulf Stream, Norwegian, North Atlantic, Northern and Southern Trade Winds, Brazilian, Kuroshio, Madagascar and others. The coldest ocean currents: Somali, Labrador, California.
Major currents
The largest warm current on the planet is the Gulf Stream. This is a meridional circulating flow that carries 75 million tons of water every second. The width of the Gulf Stream is from 70 to 90 km. Thanks to him, Europe receives a comfortable mild climate. It follows from this that cold and warm currents largely affect the life of all living organisms on the planet.
Of the zonal, cold watercourses, the flow of the Western winds is of greatest importance. In the southern hemisphere, off the coast of Antarctica, there are no island or continental clusters. A large area of the planet is completely filled with water. The Indian, Pacific and Atlantic oceans converge here into one stream, uniting into a separate huge body of water. Some scientists recognize its existence and call it Southern. It is here that the largest flow of water is formed - the current of the Western Winds. Every second it carries a flow of water that is three times larger than the Gulf Stream. 
Canary Current: warm or cold?
Currents can change their temperature. For example, the flow starts from cold masses. Then it warms up and becomes warm. One of the options for such a circulating water mass is the Canary Current. It originates in the northeast Atlantic Ocean. It is directed by a cold stream along the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Passing along the western coast of Africa, it becomes warm. This current has long been used by sailors to travel.
World ocean currentsThe warm Gulf Stream current has long been known and well studied. It passes near the eastern coast of North America from southwest to northeast.
The Gulf Stream is a warm current because its temperature is several degrees higher than the temperature of the surrounding water. This current is formed by the confluence of waters flowing from the Gulf of Mexico and waters driven by the wind from the coast of Africa.
Its length is 3 thousand km, width - hundreds of kilometers, speed - up to 10 km/h.
At about 45° N. w. The Gulf Stream turns into the North Atlantic Current, part of which flows into the Arctic Ocean. Under their influence, the Barents Sea does not freeze and the Murmansk port is accessible to ships all year round.
From the Arctic Ocean to the Atlantic, along the shores of the Labrador Peninsula, there is a cold Labrador Current . The temperature of this current is lower than the temperature of the surrounding water.
(http://kalach-gimnazia.narod.ru/sites/kuznecov/ocean.htm)
Oceanic or sea currents is the forward movement of water masses in the oceans and seas, caused by various forces. Although the most significant cause of currents is wind, they can also form due to unequal salinity of individual parts of the ocean or sea, differences in water levels, and uneven heating of different areas of water areas. In the depths of the ocean there are eddies created by bottom irregularities; their size often reaches 100–300 km in diameter; they capture layers of water hundreds of meters thick.
If the factors causing currents are constant, then a constant current is formed, and if they are episodic in nature, then a short-term, random current is formed. According to the predominant direction, currents are divided into meridional, carrying their waters to the north or south, and zonal, spreading latitudinally (note from geoglobus.ru.) Currents in which the water temperature is higher than the average temperature for the same latitudes are called warm,
below - cold
, and currents having the same temperature as the surrounding waters - neutral
.
Monsoon currents change direction from season to season, depending on how the offshore monsoon winds blow. Countercurrents move towards neighboring, more powerful and extended currents in the ocean.
The direction of currents in the World Ocean is influenced by the deflecting force caused by the rotation of the Earth - the Coriolis force. In the Northern Hemisphere, it deflects currents to the right, and in the Southern Hemisphere, to the left. The speed of currents on average does not exceed 10 m/s, and their depth extends to no more than 300 m.
In the World Ocean there are constantly thousands of large and small currents that circle the continents and merge into five giant rings. The system of currents in the World Ocean is called circulation and is associated primarily with the general circulation of the atmosphere. Ocean currents redistribute solar heat absorbed by masses of water. They transport warm water, heated by the sun's rays at the equator, to high latitudes, and cold water from the polar regions flows to the south thanks to currents. Warm currents contribute to an increase in air temperature, and cold currents, on the contrary, reduce it. Territories washed by warm currents have a warm and humid climate, while those near which cold currents pass have a cold and dry climate.
The most powerful current in the world's oceans is the cold one current of the Western Winds , also called Antarctic circumpolar (from Latin cirkum - around - note from geoglobus.ru). The reason for its formation is strong and stable westerly winds blowing from west to east over vast areas of the Southern Hemisphere from temperate latitudes to the coast of Antarctica. This current covers an area 2500 km wide, extends to a depth of more than 1 km and transports up to 200 million tons of water every second. There are no large land masses along the path of the Western Winds, and it connects the waters of three oceans - the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian - in its circular flow.
Gulf Stream - one of the largest warm currents in the Northern Hemisphere. It passes through the Gulf Stream and carries the warm tropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean to high latitudes. This gigantic flow of warm water largely determines the climate of Europe, making it soft and warm. Every second, the Gulf Stream carries 75 million tons of water (for comparison: the Amazon, the deepest river in the world, carries 220 thousand tons of water). At a depth of about 1 km, a countercurrent is observed under the Gulf Stream.
(http://www.geoglobus.ru/earth/geo6/earth12.php)
NASA specialists have created a new map of the world's ocean currents. Its difference from all previous ones is interactivity - anyone can independently look at all the stable water flows and determine the temperature nature of the flow.
Did you know that ocean water is heterogeneous? It is logical that closer to the surface it is warmer than at depth. However, not everyone knows that the volume of salt in ocean water, with rare exceptions, is inversely proportional to the depth at which this water is located - the deeper, the fresher it is. However, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, in the Arctic and Antarctic, deep waters are also saturated with salt - ice layers that penetrate to great depths contain particles of surface salt evaporation, enriching the entire water layer with them.
The top layer of ocean water is driven by stable air currents. Thus, the map of ocean currents is generally identical to the map of sea winds.
Unique online map
A unique map with which you can examine in detail the currents of all the oceans of the world
The model was developed to demonstrate the mechanism of thermal circulation in the world's waters. However, the map is not absolutely accurate - in order to better demonstrate the difference between surface and deep water flows, in certain areas the depth indicator is somewhat overestimated in relation to the real one.
The animation component of the new map was modeled by NASA scientists at the Goddard Space Flight Center laboratory.
Comparative current contour map
Below is a classic contour map of the world's ocean currents in Russian, which schematically displays all the main cold and warm currents of the world's oceans. The arrows indicate the direction of movement, and the color indicates the temperature characteristics of the water - whether a particular current is warm or cold.
The most powerful cold current of the Western Winds arises, which forms a ring around Antarctica. The direction of currents is also influenced by the position and outlines of their banks. In depth, currents are formed due to different densities of water. More dense waters move towards less dense ones and create powerful currents at depth. The direction of sea currents is greatly influenced by the rotation of the Earth. Ocean currents influence nature and... They redistribute cold and heat between latitudes, as well as gases and dissolved nutrients. With the help of currents, animals and plants move and colonize new territories. The Canary Current is a cold current of the Atlantic Ocean that moves from north to south, skirting the Iberian Peninsula and Northwest Africa. The width of the Canary Current is 400-600 km. The Labrador Current is a cold sea current in the north Atlantic Ocean. Mixed with the warm waters of the Gulf Stream, each spring it carries icebergs from Greenland to the trans-Atlantic crossing. The Bengal Current is a cold current in the Atlantic Ocean off the western coast of Africa. The Falkland Current is a cold current of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South America, a branch of the Western Winds Current. Carries a lot of icebergs. The Western Wind Current is the most powerful cold current in the World Ocean, also called the Antarctic Current. Crosses three oceans - Atlantic, Indian and Pacific. This current covers the Earth in a continuous ring, from which the cold Benguela, Western Australian and Peruvian currents branch. Its length exceeds 30 thousand km, the average width is about 1000 km. The Western Winds Current penetrates almost to the very bottom of the ocean to a depth of 4.5 km. The average current speed is 2 km/h. It is characterized by strong bends that arise under the influence of the contours of the continents and the bottom topography. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is a powerful source of energy, it forms cyclones and anticyclones that shape the weather throughout the planet. The Somali Current is a cold current in the Indian Ocean off the eastern coast of the Somali Peninsula in Africa. Caused by monsoon winds, it changes direction depending on the season. The California Current is a cold current in the Pacific Ocean. Passes along the coast of California. The Peruvian Current is a cold current in the Pacific Ocean that runs from south to north near the western coast of the South American continent. East Greenland is a cold current of the Arctic Ocean passing off the eastern coast of Greenland. It carries ice from the Arctic basin and icebergs in the summer months all year round.
