What is the pattern of ocean currents?
Ocean currents are movements of surface water. The currents set up circular loops or gyres. Gyres are spiral oceanic surface currents and are found in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The pattern of current flow is clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and anti-clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.
How are Indian Ocean surface currents different from other oceans?
Seasonal winds and surface currents over North Indian Ocean: The circulation in the north Indian Ocean is unique because it experiences strong seasonal winds called the monsoons. Hence, unlike in much of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the currents in the north Indian Ocean change with season.
What direction does the Indian Ocean current flow during the summer?
eastward
During winter, the flow of the upper ocean is directed westward from near the Indonesian Archipelago to the Arabian Sea. During the summer, the direction reverses, with eastward flow extending from Somalia into the Bay of Bengal. These variations are due to changes in the wind stress associated with the Indian monsoon.
What causes the pattern of ocean currents?
Surface currents in the ocean are driven by global wind systems that are fueled by energy from the sun. Patterns of surface currents are determined by wind direction, Coriolis forces from the Earth’s rotation, and the position of landforms that interact with the currents.
Which ocean currents flow in the Indian Ocean?
The Indian Ocean gyre is composed of two major currents: the South Equatorial Current, and the West Australian Current.
Why North Indian Ocean current is different from other ocean current?
The circulation currents of Indian Ocean is different from the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean. The Indian Ocean is surrounded by huge landmass of Eurasia in the north and is only half the ocean. The monsoon winds also play a peculiar role in the reversal of the direction of currents in the North Indian Ocean.
Is Somali Current a warm current?
The Somali Current is a cold ocean boundary current that runs along the coast of Somalia and Oman in the Western Indian Ocean and is analogous to the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic Ocean.
Which ocean has strongest currents?
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is the planet’s most powerful and arguably most important current. It is the only current to flow clear around the globe without being diverted by any landmass.
What is Indian Ocean current?
The Indian Ocean gyre is composed of two major currents: the South Equatorial Current, and the West Australian Current. Normally moving counter-clockwise, in the winter the Indian Ocean gyre reverses direction due to the seasonal winds of the South Asian Monsoon.
What is the most famous ocean current?
List of Ocean Currents of the World
| Name of Current | Nature of Current |
|---|---|
| North Equatorial Current | Hot or Warm |
| Kuroshio Current | Warm |
| North Pacific Current | Warm |
| Alaskan Current | Warm |
What are the main currents in the Indian Ocean?
The following points highlight the six main currents in the Indian ocean. The currents are: 1. North-East Monsoon Current 2. Indian Counter Current 3. S.W. Monsoon Current 4. Indian Equatorial Current 5. Mozambiqe Current 6. West Wind Drift. 1. North-East Monsoon Current (Warm):
Where are the winds in the Indian Ocean?
The effect of winds is comparatively more pronounced in the Indian Ocean. Under the influence of prevailing trade winds [easterly trade winds], the north equatorial current and the south equatorial current start from the south of Indonesian islands, moving from east to west.
How does the monsoon affect the Indian Ocean?
Also, monsoon winds in Northern Indian ocean are peculiar to the region, which directly influence the ocean surface water movement [North Indian Ocean Currents]. The currents in the northern portion of the Indian Ocean change their direction from season to season in response to the seasonal rhythm of the monsoons.
Are there any rivers that flow into the Indian Ocean?
Among the few large rivers flowing into the Indian Ocean are the Zambezi, Shatt al-Arab, Indus, Godavari, Krishna, Narmada, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Jubba and Irrawaddy. The ocean’s currents are mainly controlled by the monsoon.