🌀 OCEAN CURRENTS
PAGE 1 OF 5, GIANT RIVERS IN THE SEA
FLOW
THE OCEAN IS NEVER STILL
Surface currents are wind-driven rivers thousands of kilometres long, the Gulf Stream carries warm tropical water past eastern North America toward the North Atlantic at walking speed yet moves more water than all Earth's rivers combined. Gyres spin clockwise north of the equator and anticlockwise south thanks to winds plus Earth's rotation steering currents sideways through the Coriolis effect.
⚡ DID YOU KNOW?
Drifting bottles have crossed entire ocean basins in a few years, following the same invisible highways ships use.
MOVE!
WIND
💨 Stress drags surface layer
🌀 Trade winds set tropics
🌀 Trade winds set tropics
GYRE
🔄 Five major loops worldwide
🗑️ Plastic can spiral inward
🗑️ Plastic can spiral inward