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Report on the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean second largest ocean on our planet. The name probably originated from the legendary lost continent of Atlantis.
In the west it is limited by the shores of the Northern and South America, in the east - the shores of Europe and Africa to Cape Agulhas.
The area of the Atlantic Ocean with its seas is 91.6 million km2, the average depth is 3332 m.
Maximum depth - 8742 m in the trench Puerto Rico.
The Atlantic Ocean is located in almost all climatic zones, except for the Arctic, but its largest part lies in the areas of equatorial, subequatorial, tropical and subtropical climate.
A distinctive feature of the Atlantic Ocean is small quantity islands, as well as the complex bottom topography, which forms many pits and gutters.
Well expressed in the Atlantic Ocean currents, directed almost in the meridional direction. This is due to the large elongation of the ocean from north to south and the contours of its coastline. The most famous warm current Gulf Stream and its continuation - North Atlantic flow.
Salinity of Atlantic Ocean waters generally higher than the average salinity of the waters of the World Ocean, and organic world poorer in terms of biodiversity compared to the Pacific Ocean.
Important passages across the Atlantic sea routes, connecting Europe with North America. Shelves North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico - places of oil production.
Plants include a wide range of green, brown and red algae.
The total number of fish species exceeds 15 thousand, the most common families being nanothenia and white-blooded pike. Large mammals are most widely represented: cetaceans, seals, fur seals etc. The amount of plankton is insignificant, which causes migration of whales to feeding fields to the north or to temperate latitudes, where there is more of it.
Almost half of the world's fish catch is caught in the seas of the Atlantic Ocean. Today, unfortunately, stocks of Atlantic herring and cod, sea bass and other fish species have sharply decreased. Today the problem of preserving biological and mineral resources is particularly acute.
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The influence of currents on the climate of the Pacific coasts
The influence of currents on the climate of the Atlantic coasts
The influence of ocean currents on the climate and vegetation of continents.
Warm and cold currents of the Atlantic Ocean have great influence on the climate of coastal areas. Powerful evaporation in the region of the Gulf Stream, turning into the North Atlantic, leads to the formation of clouds and a more humid climate of the North American coast. Its warming influence also affects the climate throughout Europe. The cold Labrador Current causes a more severe climate on the Labrador Peninsula compared to the same latitudes in Europe. The cold Canary and Benguela currents have a drying effect on the climate west coast Africa in tropical latitudes where deserts are located.
Currents have a significant impact on the climate of the Pacific coasts. The climate of the western and eastern territories, located approximately at the same latitude, but influenced different trends very different. Thus, the Pacific coast of Canada, washed by the warm North Pacific Current, has denser vegetation than the coast of Kamchatka, washed by the cold Kuril Current. The eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range in Australia are washed by the warm East Australian Current, as a result of which they are covered with forests, and in the west of South America there is the driest Atacama Desert, because. the coast is washed by the cold Peruvian Current. Desert landscapes are also visible on the coast, washed by the waters of the cold California Current.
Cold currents (California, Peru, Benguela and Canary) passing off the western coasts of continents in tropical latitudes prevent the evaporation of moisture from the surface of the Ocean and thereby contribute to the formation of deserts.
The influence of currents on the climate of the Indian Ocean coasts.
Monsoon currents in the northern Indian Ocean have a huge impact on the climate. These currents change throughout the year due to monsoon winds. The Samal Current is cold in summer and flows towards India, and vice versa in winter.
The cold current of the westerly winds passing through all the oceans also has a huge influence on the climate. This current prevents Antarctica's glaciers from melting.
Surface currents in the North Atlantic Ocean move clockwise. The main elements of this big system are the northward warm Gulf Stream, as well as the North Atlantic, Canary and Northern Trade Wind (Equatorial) Currents. The Gulf Stream follows from the Strait of Florida and Cuba in a northerly direction along the US coast and approximately 40 N latitude. deviates to the northeast, changing its name to the North Atlantic Current. This current is divided into two branches, one of which follows northeast along the coast of Norway and further to the North Arctic Ocean. The second branch turns south and further southwest along the coast of Africa, forming the cold Canary Current. This current moves southwest and connects with the North Trade Wind Current, which heads west towards the West Indies, where it merges with the Gulf Stream. To the north of the North Trade Wind Current there is an area of stagnant waters, teeming with algae, known as the Sargasso Sea. Along the North Atlantic coast North America The cold Labrador Current runs from north to south, coming from Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea and cooling the shores of New England.
The major current systems in the South Atlantic Ocean move counterclockwise. The South Trade Wind Current is directed to the west. At the ledge east coast In Brazil, it is divided into two branches: the northern one carries water along northern shore South America to the Caribbean, and the southern one, the warm Brazil Current, moves south along the coast of Brazil and joins the West Wind Current, or Antarctic Current, which heads east and then northeast. Part of this cold current separates and carries its waters north along the African coast, forming the cold Benguela Current; the latter eventually joins the South Trade Wind Current. The warm Guinea Current moves south along the coast North West Africa to the Gulf of Guinea.
Mariners learned about the presence of ocean currents almost as soon as they began to plow the waters of the World Ocean. True, the public paid attention to them only when, thanks to the movement of ocean waters, many great things were accomplished. geographical discoveries, for example, Christopher Columbus sailed to America thanks to the North Equatorial Current. After this, not only sailors, but also scientists began to pay attention to ocean currents. close attention and strive to explore them as best and deeply as possible.
Already in the second half of the 18th century. the sailors studied the Gulf Stream quite well and successfully applied the acquired knowledge in practice: from America to Great Britain they walked with the current, and in the opposite direction they kept a certain distance. This allowed them to stay two weeks ahead of ships whose captains were not familiar with the area.
Ocean or sea currents are large-scale movements water masses of the World Ocean at a speed of 1 to 9 km/h. These flows do not move chaotically, but in a certain channel and direction, which is 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 more than one 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 sufficient quantity factors - wind, rotation of the planet around its axis, gravitational fields 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 of the ocean and even its physical and chemical composition.
Of all types of water flows, the most pronounced surface currents The world's oceans, the depth of which is often several hundred meters. Their occurrence was influenced by trade winds constantly moving in tropical latitudes in western east direction. These trade winds form the huge flows of the North and South Equatorial Currents near the equator. A minority of these flows returns to the east, forming a countercurrent (when the movement of water occurs in the opposite direction from the movement air masses side). 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 indicators of the water flows of the Benguela Current, which flows along the cape Good Hope, are 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 current temperature is lower 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 large river flows, ocean water has low 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
On at the moment Scientists have recorded about fifteen main ocean 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 everything ocean currents The Indian Ocean is classified as 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 others 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 most of of our planet.
For example, trade wind water flows transport warm waters from the western tropical shores to the eastern ones, which is why in the tropical zone western part 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
Enough long time Scientists believed that deep ocean waters were almost motionless. But soon special underwater vehicles were discovered on great depth both slow and fast flowing water streams.
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 can hardly 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 driven by solar energy. This machine creates a constant exchange of water between the surface and deep layers of the ocean, providing it with oxygen dissolved in the water and influencing the life of marine inhabitants.
This process can be traced, for example, by considering the Peruvian Current, which is located in Pacific Ocean. Thanks to the rise deep waters, which lift phosphorus and nitrogen upward, to ocean surface animal and plant plankton successfully develops, as a result of which the food chain. Plankton is eaten by small fish, which, in turn, become prey to larger fish, birds, and marine mammals, which, given 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: average temperature environment rises by several degrees, causing warm tropical showers to fall on the ground, which, once in the ocean, kill fish accustomed to cold temperatures. The result is disastrous - it ends up in the ocean huge amount dead small fish, large fish leave, fishing stops, birds leave their nesting places. As a result local population deprived of fish, crops destroyed by rainfall, and profits from the sale of guano (bird droppings) as fertilizer. It can often take several years to restore the previous ecosystem.
Which is known throughout the world, hides many secrets. It is rich in cold and warm water columns, which will be discussed below.
The most powerful current in the northern hemisphere is the Gulf Stream. At first, scientists thought that it originated in the Gulf. This is where its name came from, which means “current from the bay.” It was later proven that only a portion of this flow exits the Gulf of Mexico. The main current originates from Atlantic coasts North America. Upon reaching the said ocean, the Gulf Stream is deflected to the left, instead of shifting to the other side, according to the influence of the Earth's rotation.
Antillean Current
The Antilles Current, together with the Florida Current, is a continuation of the Gulf Stream. It flows in a northerly direction from the famous Bahamas. All of them - the Atlantic Ocean receives the Antillean water column as a result of the north equatorial flow and under the influence Maximum speed- 2 km/h. The temperature does not exceed 28°C in summer and 25°C in winter.
Northern and Southern Trade Wind Currents
The southern current moves from Africa to America. In the area of one of the capes it crosses, it splits into two branches. One of them moves towards the northwest, where it changes its name to the Guiana Current, and the second (received the name Brazilian) moves to the southwest, affecting Cape Horn. Parallel to the second is the Falkland Stream.
The northern border of the North Trade Wind Current has conventional features, while in the south the division is more noticeable. The stream begins near Cape Zeleny, or rather, on its western side. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the current becomes calmer and colder, so it changes its name to the Antilles.
These two moving streams of water are warm currents. The Atlantic Ocean is rich in such strata in its water area. The rest will be discussed further.
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream is a very powerful and extensive current that influences the climate of the American and European continent. The speed of water on its surface is 2.5 meters per second. The depth reaches 800 m, and the width reaches 120 kilometers. On the surface, the water temperature reaches 25-27 degrees Celsius, but in the middle depths it does not exceed 12 o C. Every second this current moves 75 million tons of water, which is tens of times more mass, carried by all the rivers of the Earth.
Moving northeast, the Gulf Stream reaches Barents Sea. Here its waters cool and flow south, forming the Greenland Current. Then it again deviates to the west and merges with the Gulf Stream.
North Atlantic Current
The North Atlantic is the second most important in such a body of water as the Atlantic Ocean. The currents that depart from the Gulf Stream are striking in their characteristics, and this one is no exception. It carries up to 40 million cubic meters of water in one second. Together with other Atlantic currents, this has a significant impact on the weather in Europe. The Gulf Stream could not provide the continents with such a mild climate alone, because its warm waters pass at a sufficient distance from their shores.
Guinea Current
The Atlantic Ocean is a current that constantly circulates in the water area. Guinean waters move from the western to the eastern part. A little later they turn south. As a rule, the average water temperature is no more than 28 o C. The speed in most cases does not exceed 44 km/day, although there are days when this figure reaches 88 km/day.
Equatorial current
The Atlantic Ocean has a powerful countercurrent. The currents that form it are famous for their warm waters and relatively calm character. Equatorial circulation is observed not only in the Atlantic, but also in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The first mention of it appeared in the 19th century. The main difference between a countercurrent is that it moves in the opposite side wind and other circulations in the middle of a certain water area.
Lomonosov Current
The Atlantic Ocean is also present here), the second longest water area in the world. In 1959, the so-called Lomonosov circulation was discovered. It was named after the ship on which scientists first crossed these waters. Average depth- 150 meters. Because we're talking about about cold currents, then you should clarify information about temperature conditions- 20 o C is most often observed here.
Sea currents
The article indicates some of the water circulations that the Atlantic Ocean is rich in. Sea currents can occur during active forces, which, firstly, create, and, secondly, change the speed and direction of flows. Their formation is strongly influenced by the relief, coastline and depth.
Ocean water is on the move, affecting your climate, your local ecosystem and the seafood you eat. Ocean currents, abiotic features of the environment, are the continuous and directional movements of ocean water. These currents are found in the depths of the ocean and on its surface, flowing both locally and globally.
The most important and unique currents of the Atlantic Ocean
- Equatorial northern current. This current is created due to the rise cold water near the African west coast. The warm current is also pushed westward by the cool Canary Current.
- The Equatorial South Current flows from the west coast of Africa to the coast of South America between the equator and latitude 20°. This current is more constant, stronger and more to a greater extent than the north equatorial current. In fact, this current is a continuation of the Benguela current.
- The Gulf Stream consists of several currents that flow in a northeasterly direction. This current system is occurring in the Gulf of Mexico and reaching western shores Europe is about 70° north latitude.
- The Florida Current is a continuation of the well-known equatorial current in the north. This stream flows through the Yucatan Canal in Gulf of Mexico, after which the current moves forward through the Straits of Florida and reaches 30° north latitude.
- The Canary Current is the coolest current that flows along the west coast. North Africa between Madeira and Cape Verde. In fact, this current is a continuation of the North Atlantic drift, which turns south near the Spanish coast and flows south along the coast of the Canary Islands. Approximate current speed ranges from 8 to 30 nautical miles.
- The Labrador Current, an example of a cold current, originates in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait and after flowing through the coastal waters of Newfoundland and the Grand Banks merges with the Gulf Stream around 50°W longitude. The flow rate is 7.5 million m3 of water per second.
