Major ocean currents and how they affect global temperatures

Hi everyone,

This week we're talking about ocean currents. Ocean currents are part of the ocean's circulation system and influence local and global weather patterns. They are produced by gravity, differences in water density, winds on the ocean surface and Earth's rotation on its own axis. They cause the movements and exchanges of different ocean properties such as salinity, temperature and nutrients. Ocean currents can flow at speeds of up to 4m per second however most flow at speeds between 5cm and 50cm per second. Weather patterns and ocean currents constantly influence one another. Ocean currents follow similar paths as global wind do, transferring heat from the equator to polar regions. They create and influence ecosystems worldwide, especially marine ones. However they also spread plastics and microplastics around the world far from their original source. This system of ocean currents is often referred to as a global conveyor belt. Today we're going to look at six major ocean currents.

Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream is caused by movement of water in the Gulf of Mexico. It flows from the Caribbean up the eastern coast of the USA, before crossing the Atlantic and flowing towards the western coast of Europe. It is a warm surface current, meaning that it transports warm water to northeastern USA and into the Atlantic. As it reaches higher latitudes, it cools and the water sinks before flowing back towards the tropics. This current regulates the temperature in the North Atlantic region and causes milder winters in Western Europe.

Gulf Stream

California Current

This current flows from the arctic, down the west coast of the USA and towards the equator. Arctic waters are known to be very rich in nutrients, so this cold, nutrient-rich current flows southwards and has a significant effect on local ecosystems. It is vital for many sea creatures especially marine mammals such as dolphins and whales.

California Current

Kuroshio Current

The Kuroshio Current is caused by movements in western Pacific waters as the sun heats the ocean. This warm water flows up the east coast of Japan. It regulates the temperature in the North Pacific region and leads to milder winters in Japan and some other East Asian countries. It also serves as a migration route for many species.

Kuroshio Current

Agulhas Current

This current flows southwards down the East coast of Africa. It impacts the temperatures across the Indian Ocean Region and transports warmer water towards South Africa. This leads to higher temperatures in southeastern Africa. This current is also an important migration route.

Antarctic Circumpolar Current

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is a cold surface current around Antarctica. It also transports cold water to the tropics. This current regulates the temperature of the Southern Ocean region and the coastal areas of Antarctica.

Antarctic Circumpolar Current

Thermohaline Circulation

The Thermohaline Circulation is a global deep current. It's caused by differences in water density. Transporting warm water to the poles and cold water to the tropics, it affects surface temperatures worldwide and distributes heat and nutrients.

Thermohaline Circulation

We hope you enjoyed learning about different ocean currents and how they affect global temperatures. We'll be back next week!

Your Green World Blog Team💚

Sources:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231017123428.htm

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231009191640.htm

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/10/231013114900.htm

https://www.britannica.com/science/ocean-current

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/ocean-currents/

https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/ocean-coasts/ocean-currents

https://oceaninfo.com/list/ocean-currents/

Images:

Gulf Stream: Georges Clerc-Rampal, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

California Current: Cormorant24, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Kuroshio Current: Frank Geerlings, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Antarctic Circumpolar Current: NASA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Thermohaline Circulation: Brisbane, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Comments

19.07.2020: Animal of the week: Honey Bees

Hi everyone, This week's animal is the honey bee. Enjoy! General Information An average honeybee hive is made up of one queen, hundreds of male drones and thousands of female workers. If the queen bee dies then a new queen is created. The workers select a young larva and feed it with a special food called ‘royal jelly’. The ‘royal jelly’ makes the larva grow into a fertile queen. Queens live for several years but the workers only live for five or six weeks. An average worker will make a twelfth of a tee spoon of honey during her entire life. Drones are turned out of the hive and left to die in Autumn. In the summer months, the queen bee is very busy, she can lay up to 2500 eggs in a single day. How they affect the world around them Honey bees are very important for flowers, fruit and vegetables. This comes from the fact that they are pollinators. They help the plants by transferring pollen between male and female parts, meaning the plants can g...

The life of ... a koala

Hello everyone, Today we're talking about koalas. Also known as koala bears, koalas are marsupials. So they're actually not bears. Koalas, phascolarctos cinereus , are tree dwelling and probably best known for spending most of the day sleeping. They live for up to 15 years in the wild although captive koalas generally live for longer. Koalas have a stout, gray body and a cream-coloured chest. They have a broad face, small yellow eyes and big fluffy ears. In adaptation to climbing, their feet are strong and clawed. Adult individuals in South Australia weigh 14kg and are 60-84cm big. Their Eastern cousins are considerably smaller. Koalas are found in Eastern and Southern Australia, where they live in eucalyptus trees. They feed on the leaves of these eucalyptus trees, eating up to 1.3kg a day. With a body weight of up to 14kg, this means they eat just under 10% of their body weight every single day. However, the le...

Green Pets || easy house plants to get you started // best house plants for beginners

Hi Everyone! Today I wanted to talk to you about some easy house plants you could look after to get you started on your green pets journey. These are plants that are easy to look after and that I recommend for an introduction into caring for house plants. If you are a beginner or want to look after some plants, then this is the post for you! 1. Cacti - moon cactus I don't actually have a cactus, but they are the obvious place to start. They need little water and thrive in warm conditions; they are described as "low maintenance". I have done some research and it looks like the moon cactus (Gymnocalycium mihanovichii) is the best one in terms of not being too fussy with needing minimal water and tolerates lower light levels. I would like a cactus at some point, but if you are just starting out wanting to care for some house plants, then this is the one to start with! 2. Aloe Vera One of my first house plants, this is one that is rela...

Animals 31-35 in our '50 incredible animals' series

Hi Everyone! Welcome back to our blog, today we are sharing another 5 incredible animals. This is part of a series to celebrate our 50th blog post, all about unusual animals! Enjoy! 31. Pangolins These creatures are often mistaken for reptiles but they are in fact mammals. They are covered in scales and use them to defend themselves because similar to a hedgehog, they curl up into a ball. They eat ants, termites and larvae. They eat using their tongue, which is very long- sometimes even longer than their body! Sadly, Pangolins are in high demand as their meat is considered a delicacy their scales are used in traditional folk remedies, which means that there is an illegal trade. Luckily, there have been many initiatives put in place to help these animals by WWF and similar organisations. 32. Macropinna Microstoma This is a species of fish that live at about 600m below sea level. They hang nearly motionless in the water and have a very unusual...

Air pollution

Hi Everyone, Today we're talking about air pollution. We've all heard about air pollution, normally in connection to cars, coal mines or planes. But what are the consequences of too much air pollution and what can we do about it? One type of air pollution is known as PM2.5. These are particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter. This means that we cannot see them without technology such as microscopes. They are produced in a number of different ways including power generation, motor traffic, domestic heating and chemical reactions taking place in the air around us. Although these particles are very small and "invisible", they can cause a lot of damage. Research data now shows links between this form of air pollution and cancers, premature births, diabetes (especially type 2) and heart and lung disease. It is shown to cause 400 000 deaths across Europe every year. Unfortunately this form of air pollution is widespread. A guardian article explains how in Europe alone...

Energy comparison: wind turbines

Hello, Finally, we are back with another energy comparison. Today we're looking at wind turbines. Wind power is a fast-growing renewable energy source. In the US, the wind power industry currently employs 120 000 people across all 50 states. It could grow to employ hundreds of thousands of people by 2050. 9% of the electricity in the US in 2021 came from wind turbines, that’s 136 000 megawatts. The wind power industry saves 329 million metric tons of carbon dioxide every year. General knowledge and categorisation We should probably start off by clarifying how wind turbines actually work and what types there are. I’m not going to give an in-depth description of how wind turbines work because I don’t want this post to turn into a physics lesson. To put it very simply, the wind turns the blades, which turns the rotor. The rotor then turns the generator, which converts the kinetic energy (movement) into electricity. There are obviously a lot more...

Discussion || Should Everyone Switch To Electric Cars?

Hi Everyone! Thank you so much for joining me today, as I hop on the blog to discuss whether everyone switching to electric cars would really help the environment. In other words, should everyone switch to electric cars? This is the first part of a two-part series, discussing electric cars, so stay tuned for part two!! I would like to start this post by stating that I am by no means an expert. This is knowledge I have from my own experience, and from research I have done. If anything is incorrect please take it as it is and accept that this is a discussion and I am taking on board all opinions from reliable sources on this complex topic. Electric cars are a huge topic when it comes to sustainability and "saving our planet". There is no debating the fact that electric cars are better for the environment than diesel or petrol once they are on the road. But the production of them is often very polluting, with one study show...

January 2021 Factfile - a bit of news from the past month and more!

Hi Everyone! Welcome to the first monthly fact file! We are going to share a news article from last month as well as animals and more! News You might have heard that the UK has authorised the use of a pesticide harmful to bees. It has been authorised for use on sugar beet with their excuse being to do with the virus yellows disease. But bees are in serious decline and this is not going to help. It is authorised for emergency use and only in specific conditions but, in our eyes, that doesn't make it okay. Farmers need bees to pollinate crops and now they are killing them with a horrible pesticide. What do you think? We would love your opinions below! For more information on bees in our honey bee post click here . We have also found an article about some Indonesian monkeys from the island of Bali who steal anything expensive, that tourists have because they know they will get a reward! They know which items have the most value and wi...

July 2021 Factfile - some news from the past month, animals and plants!

Hi Everyone, July is over and August is here. This month we've divided the 'News' section into 'Good news' and 'Bad news'. This will hopefully make the post more structured and easier to navigate. News Good news: Pandas classified as vulnerable Giants pandas are now classified as vulnerable according to Chinese officials. They were originally classed as endangered , but now that numbers in the wild have gone over 1 800 they have been reclassified. This is due to hard conservation work in China and funds from volunteers all over the globe. However, they are still vulnerable so it is important that the good work continues. For all those who have supported giant pandas through websites or those who work actively with them: keep up the good work! First baby beaver born on Exmoor in 400 years A baby beaver has been born on Exmoor, England, for the first time in 400 years! This is due to ...

October 2021 Factfile | news, animals and more!

Hello, October is over and November is here - let's hope it's a cosy month full of stunning Autumn colours and beautiful rainy days! News Good news Judge postpones wolf hunt in Wisconsin Every year in Wisconsin there is a wolf hunt in autumn. But this year, something amazing happened: A judge halted the season. For years there has been a dispute, on one side environmentalists, and on the other hunters and farmers. The farmers claim that wolves destroy their crops and that killing them is the only solution. Environmentalists argue that wolf populations are too weak and that the animals shouldn't be killed. Let's hope that this is the first step toward stopping the wolf hunt altogether. Bad news Pacific islands are disappearing For many of us, the threat of climate change feels distant. But for the people of the Pacific islands, the terror is all too real. These are their homes, and they are rapidly becoming submerged b...

Green World

Search This Blog