1. Climate and Ocean Currents
Surface Current: Wind driven
Sub-surface current (deep ocean current): Density driven
Currents equalize global temperatures
Currents control climate
Currents provide nutrients to marine organisms

2. Open-Ocean Wind driven Surface Current

3. Ekman Effect

4. Ekman Spiral Ekman transport The integrated water mass transport is at
the right angle, 90
degree, to the wind
direction, known as
Ekman transport.
Ekman
layer
Ekman
layer

5. Ocean Gyres

6. Geostrophic Currents

7. Equatorial Upwelling

8. Coastal Upwelling and Downwelling

9. Gulf Stream

10. Westward intensification Harald Sverdrup Henry Stommel Arctic Ocean
Barents
Sea
Westward
intensification
Harald
Sverdrup
Henry
Stommel

11. Westward intensification

12. Oceanic eddies
Land + _
Warm- and Cold-Core Rings

13. Ocean Circulation
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14. Ocean
Currents
And
Climate
August
February

15. Deep ocean circulation
heating
cooling
Upper surface water increases its density either directly by cooling or indirectly when ice freezes out to eject salt, and thus, increasing the density of the remaining water.

16. Deep water formation a. North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW)
Source: Norwegian sea, Greenland Sea Labrador Sea
b. Mediterranean Deep Water (MIW)
Source: Mediterranean Sea
c. Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW)
Sources: Margins of Antarctic
continent, Wedell Sea, Ross Sea
d. Pacific Intermediate Water (PIW)
Sources: Bering Sea
Greenland Sea
Norwegian Sea
Labrador Sea
Mediterranean Sea
Wedell Sea
Ross Sea

17. Global Oceanic Conveyor Belt
NADW
AADW
Schematic diagram of the global ocean circulation pathway
known as ‘conveyer’ belt due to its northward transport at the
ocean surface, and southward return flow in the abyss in the Atlantic. The ocean circulation system is a slow, 3-D pattern of
flow involving the surface and deep oceans around the world.

18. Ocean Circulation
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