Oceanography

Waves and Ocean Currents

By Dr Vipan Goyal
 Ocean Waves
• Oscillatory movements in water manifested by alternate rise
& fall of sea surface
• Formed mainly by friction & pressure of wind on sea surface
• There is no upward movement of water in a wave. When a
Wave enters shallow water it breaks.
 Ocean Waves
• Water from the breaking wave runs up the shore as swash
and back down the shores as backwash.
• The maximum height of the wave in most oceans is about
12m but they may be as high as 15m.
• Seismic waves or tsunamis are the waves caused by
earthquakes in volcanic eruptions in the sea bottom.
 Ocean Currents
• Ocean currents are the large masses of surface water that
circulates in regular pattern around the oceans
• Only water in current moves forward while water on its sides
& below remains almost stationary
• Those that flow from equatorial region polewards have a
higher surface temperature & are warm currents
• Those that flow from Polar Regions equator ward have a
lower surface temperature & are cold currents
 Major factors
• Prevailing winds, salinity differences of water, Density, Temp.
difference, Evaporation, Rotation & revolution of earth, Shape
of coasts, coriolis force, gravitational force
• Prevailing winds are the major factors as they blow
consistently in one direction & drag the surface water due to
force of friction
• Prevailing winds are Trade winds, Westerlies and Polar
Easterlies
 Major factors
• There is much difference in the temp. of ocean water at
the equator & at the poles
• As warm water is lighter & rises, and cold water is denser
& sinks; warm equatorial water move slowly along the
surface pole-wards, while the heavier cold water of polar
regions creeps slowly along the bottom of the sea
equator-wards
 Major factors
• Waters of high salinity is denser than the waters of low
salinity, hence the waters of low salinity flow on the surface of
water of high salinity and vice versa.
• Currents circulate in clockwise direction in Northern
Hemisphere and in anti-clockwise direction in Southern
Hemisphere.
 Circulation of Pacific Ocean
• Deepest ,Largest, Triangular in
shape + 1/3rd of Earth’s area
• The NE trade winds blow the
North equatorial current off the
coast of the Philippines &
Formosa into the East China Sea
as the Kuroshio or Japan
current.
• It moves poleward as North
Pacific drift, keeping the ports
of Alaskan coast ice free in
winters.
 Circulation of Pacific Ocean
• The cold Bering current or Alaskan
current creeps southwards from the
narrow Bering strait & is joined by
Okhotsk current, to meet the warm
Japan current as cold Oyashio current.
• The cold water eventually sinks below
the warm water of North Pacific drift
& part of Oyashio moves eastward as
the cold Californian current along the
coast of western USA, which finally
coalesces with the North Equatorial
current to complete the clockwise
circulation.
 Circulation of Pacific Ocean
• The South equatorial current,
driven by the SE trade winds,
flows southward along the
coast of Queensland as the
East Australian current.
• The current turns eastward
towards New Zealand under
the full effect of westerlies in
the Tasman Sea & merges
with south pacific current.
 Circulation of Pacific Ocean
• Obstructed by the tip of
southern Chile, the
current turns northward
along the western coast
of South America as the
cold Humboldt Current or
Peruvian current.
• The Peruvian current
eventually links up with
the South Equatorial
current & completes the
cycle of currents in South
Pacific.
 Phytoplankton and Fishing
• Mixing zones of Cold and Warm Ocean Currents
[Grand Banks] and cold water upwelling zones [Peru
coast] are the most productive fishing grounds on
earth.
• Phytoplankton are the primary producers in the
marine food chain and hence they are called the ‘grass
of the sea’.
• Phytoplankton are predominantly microscopic, single
celled organisms.
 Circulation of Atlantic Ocean
• 1/6th of the earth area
• The steady trade winds
constantly drift two streams
of water from east to west
as North equatorial current
& South equatorial current
• Between the west flowing
North & South Equatorial
currents is the east flowing
Equatorial counter current
 North Atlantic Ocean Current Movement
• In the North Atlantic Ocean, the
Canaries current is joined &
reinforced by North equatorial current
• Heads north-westward as a large mass
of equatorial water into the Caribbean
Sea
• Part of the current enters the Gulf of
Mexico & emerges from the Florida
straight between Florida & Cuba as
Florida current
• The rest of the equatorial water flows
northwards, east of Antilles to join the
Gulf Stream off the SE USA
 North Atlantic Ocean Current Movement
• Gulf Stream hugs the coast of America
as far as Cape Hartteras, where it get
deflected eastwards under the
combined effect of westerlies &
rotation of the earth; and reaches
Europe as North Atlantic drift
• From the North Atlantic, it fans out in
three directions viz. eastward to
Britain, northward to Arctic &
southward along the Iberian coast as
the cool Canaries current
 North Atlantic Ocean Current Movement
• The canaries current flowing
southward eventually merges
with North equatorial current,
completing the clockwise
circuit in the North Atlantic
ocean
• Within this ring of currents, an
area in the middle of Atlantic
has no perceptible current
• A large amount of floating
seaweed gathers in here & the
area is called Sargasso Sea
 North Atlantic Ocean Current Movement
• Apart from the clockwise circulation of
currents, there are also cold currents
that enter the North Atlantic from the
Arctic regions, which are blown south
by out-flowing polar winds.
• The East Greenland current flows
between Iceland & Greenland & cools
the North Atlantic drift at the point of
convergence
• The cold Labrador current drifts south-
eastwards between west Greenland &
Baffin island to meet the warm Gulf
stream off Newfoundland
 Sargasso Sea
• The Sargasso Sea is a region in the gyre in the
middle of the North Atlantic Ocean.
• It is the only sea on Earth which has no coastline.
• It is bounded on the
• west by the Gulf Stream;
• north, by the North Atlantic Current;
• east, by the Canary Current; and
• south, by the North Atlantic Equatorial Current.
• This system of ocean currents forms the North
Atlantic Gyre.
• All the currents deposit the marine plants and
refuse they carry into this sea.
 South Atlantic Ocean Current Movement
• At the shoulder of NE Brazil, the protruding
land mass splits the South equatorial current
into Guinea current which flows along the
Guiana coast and Brazilian current which
flows southwards along the coast of Brazil
• The South Atlantic Ocean follows the same
pattern but the major differences are the
circuit is anti-clockwise here & collection of
seaweed in mid-south Atlantic is not so
distinctive
• Where the South equatorial current is split (at
Cape Sao Roque), one branch turns south as
the warm Brazilian current
 South Atlantic Ocean Current Movement
• At about 40*S, the influence of westerlies &
rotation of the earth, propels the current
eastward to merge with the cold South
Atlantic current
• On reaching the west coast of Africa, the
current is diverted northward as the cold
Benguela current
• Driven by the regular SE trade winds, the
Benguela current surges equatorwards to
join South equatorial current
• This completes the circulation of the
currents in South Atlantic
 Indian Ocean Circulation
• The equatorial current, turning
southward past Madagascar as the
Agulhas or Mozambique current
merges with the South Pacific current
• Flowing eastward, it turns equatorward
as cold West Australian current
• In north Indian Ocean, there is
complete reversion of direction of
currents between summers & winters,
due to change of monsoon winds
 Indian Ocean Circulation
• In summers, under the effect of SW
monsoon, it flows clockwise, & in winters
under the effect of NE monsoon, it flows
anti-clockwise
• Heating by solar rays’ causes expansion
of water that is why near the equator
ocean water is 8 cm higher in level
compared to mid latitudes
Thank You