Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean In the Atlantic Ocean, the steady trade winds in north and south of the equator drive two streams of surface water westward. They are known as North and South Equatorial Currents. They are warm cur­rents. Other important currents of the Atlantic Ocean are as follows:
Guinea Current A current called the Equatorial Counter Current flows from west to east between the two main equatorial currents. It is known as the Guinea current off the West African coast.

Brazil Current The South Equatorial Current is split into two branches near Cape de Sao Roque (Brazil). One branch turns south as the warm Brazilian current.
Gulf Stream It is a warm current of sea water. It originates in the eastern Gulf of Mexico before flowing past Florida and the eastern seaboard of the USA. The warm Gulf stream combines with the prevailing south-westerly winds to produce the temperate climate of north-west Europe and keeps the Norwegian coast ice-free during the winter months.

Canary Current It is a cold current which flows south­wards past Madeira and the Canaries off the Atlantic coast of North Africa. It is caused by the upwelling of colder water from greater depths owing to the southward deflec­tion of the west wind drift in the North Atlantic and the transference of surface water back across the Atlantic by the North Equatorial Current.

Labrador Current The Labrador current (warm) flows southwards along part of the east coast of Canada and meets the warm Gulf Stream. The confluence of these two currents, one hot and the other cold, produces the famous fogs around Newfoundland.
Benguela Current It is a cold ocean current flowing northwards off the coast of South West Africa. It is characterised by the upwelling of relatively cold water and has an associated effect on the coastal climate of the region.

Florida Current It is one of the important ocean currents of the North Atlantic. It commences as a branch of the North Equatorial Current, which enters the Caribbean and then returns to the Atlantic Ocean through the Florida Straits as the Florida current.