Ocean Currents

24 currents as warm/cold arrows — Gulf Stream to Humboldt, where they meet, what drives them, El Niño and the monsoon drift.

On this map (24)

Gulf Stream · Florida → off the US east coast → mid-Atlantic — Warm current. Warm, fast current out of the Gulf of Mexico through the Florida Strait
North Atlantic Drift · Mid-Atlantic → NW Europe → Norway — Warm current. Keeps NW European ports ice-free and winters mild
Labrador · Baffin Bay → Labrador → Newfoundland — Cold current. COLD current ✓ (UPSC 1989); carries icebergs south (the Titanic sank in its path)
East Greenland · Arctic → Denmark Strait — Cold current. Brings Arctic ice south along Greenland
Canary · Iberia → NW Africa — Cold current. Cold current off NW Africa — helps keep the Sahara dry
N Equatorial (Atl.) · West Africa → Caribbean — Warm current. Trade winds push it west into the Caribbean
Equatorial Counter · Between the two equatorial currents — Warm counter-current (eastward). Flows EAST between the westward equatorial currents — driven by the convergence (piling up) of the two equatorial currents (UPSC 2015)
Brazil · NE Brazil → Argentina — Warm current. Warm current down the Brazil coast
Falkland · Drake Passage → Argentina — Cold current. Meets the Brazil current off Argentina — rich fishing
Benguela · Cape → Namibia → Angola — Cold current. Cold current of the west coast of South Africa (UPSC 1984); keeps the Namib a foggy desert
S Equatorial (Atl.) · Gulf of Guinea → Brazil — Warm current. Splits at Brazil into the Brazil current and a northward branch
Kuroshio · Taiwan → SE Japan — Warm current. “Black current”: warm current of the SE coast of Japan (UPSC 1984); the Pacific’s Gulf Stream
Oyashio · Kamchatka → N Japan — Cold current. Meets the Kuroshio off Japan → one of the richest fishing grounds (UPSC 2013)
N Pacific Drift · Japan → across the Pacific → Canada — Warm current. Carries Kuroshio water east towards North America
California · Oregon → Baja California — Cold current. Cold current: fogs of San Francisco; dry Sonoran–Mojave coast
Alaska · Gulf of Alaska — Warm current. Warm current that keeps south Alaskan ports ice-free
Humboldt (Peru) · Chile → Peru — Cold current. Cold current of the SW coast of South America (UPSC 1984); upwelling feeds the world’s biggest anchovy fishery
S Equatorial (Pac.) · Peru → west Pacific — Warm current. Trade winds pile warm water in the west Pacific; when they weaken, El Niño follows
East Australian · Coral Sea → Sydney — Warm current. Warm current down Australia’s east coast (“Finding Nemo” current)
Agulhas · Mozambique Channel → South Africa — Warm current. Warm current down the east coast of Africa
West Australian · SW Australia — Cold current. Cold current; dry west coast of Australia
Somali (summer) · Somalia coast — Reversing current. Reverses with the monsoon; in summer strong upwelling makes it cold
SW Monsoon Current · Arabian Sea → south of India → Bay of Bengal — Seasonal current. Summer: flows EAST round India; winter: reverses as the NE Monsoon Current
West Wind Drift · Round Antarctica, west → east — Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Largest current on Earth; driven by the westerlies (Roaring Forties)

Asked in exams

UPSC 1984SE coast of USA → Florida current
UPSC 1988Fog at Newfoundland → warm and cold currents meet
UPSC 1989Gulf Stream is cold ✗
UPSC 2024Gulf Stream and N Atlantic Drift are cold currents ✗
UPSC 1989Cold ocean current → Labrador
UPSC 2015Eastward equatorial counter-current → convergence of the two equatorial currents
UPSC 1984West coast of South Africa → Benguela
UPSC 1984SE coast of Japan → Kuroshio
UPSC 2013Best fishing grounds → where warm and cold currents meet
UPSC 1984SW coast of South America → Peruvian current
UPSC 1997Reversal of Indian Ocean currents → monsoon drift

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