Best 5 Ocean Currents

An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of ocean water, influenced by factors such as wind, salinity, tides, and temperature. Like many things in life, some ocean currents are more awesome then others. These are their stories.

5. California Current

According to my detailed, thorough research, the California Current, a southward flowing cool water current that spans the West Coast, is supposed to be one of the most important of the 17 major ocean currents. To be honest though, I can’t really find anything that makes it very interesting. Sure, it apparently creates a rich nutritional environment for plankton, and thus whales and the like, but other than that, I don’t see it. Personally, I think it’s West Coast bias; I bet the person who decides which currents are “the most important” lives in Cali and just wants to brag. 

4. Agulhas Current

Located in the southwest of the Indian Ocean and flowing down the eastern coast of Africa, this current is the second swiftest in the world. The reason it’s a pretty cool current (wrong choice of words; it’s a warm water current) is its historical significance. In their attempt to sail to India in search of spices, the Portuguese tried to go around the southern tip of Africa, running straight into… the southward flowing Agulhas. It took a couple tries for the Portuguese figured out how to successfully navigate the fast moving current, but as we all know they eventually did. So I guess it’s not significant, as it only delayed the Portuguese, but still.

3. Labrador Current

If a current could be an economic party pooper and general disliker of people, it would be the Labrador Current. This southward flowing cold water current off the coast of Canada and the East Coast of U.S. just seems to enjoy messing with us. It gets a little wacky sometimes, bringing icebergs from Greenland right into trans-Atlantic shipping lanes, and, when it mixes with the Gulf Stream, a warm water current also in the Atlantic, it creates dense fog that’s hard to navigate. And it makes parts of Canada and northern New England colder! I’m sure they don’t like that. Sure, it also creates some rich fishing grounds, but I since I read the negative stuff first, I’m sticking in the anti-Labrador camp.

2. Humboldt Current

The Humboldt Current flows northward flowing and is cool, in both senses of the word. Spanning the southern tip of Chile to the northern coast of Peru, this current is chill (again, in both senses of the word) because it displays just how important currents are. Sure, obviously they affect water-related things, like the abundance of marine life, but they also influence things you don’t necessarily relate with the flow of the ocean, like the arability of land. You know why northern Chile is arid? Because of the Humboldt Current. It cools down the coast, in addition to creating the most productive marine ecosystem in the world. Pretty awesome, no? 

1. Gulf Stream 

The Gulf Stream flows from the Gulf of Mexico north to Europe, bringing warm water with it. Like the Humboldt, it affects weather, making Western Europe warmer than places at similar latitudes. But there’s a downside to this; although it might make the climate in the U.K. more comfortable, in the Gulf of Mexico, the warm water intensifies hurricanes. There’s still some good news, though. As the world’s fastest current, the Gulf Stream is very powerful. Scientists are now trying to harness that power to hopefully create a new renewable energy source. How inserting the gigantic turbines that would be needed to accomplish this goal affects the environment is something, however, that remains to be seen.

For the people who were depressed that this post contained info about the Labrador Current, and not Lab puppies