Question

Explain different types of ocean currents.

Answer 1

On the basis of depth:

• Surface currents constitute aboutlO percent of all the water in the ocean. These water are the upper 400 m of the ocean.
• Deep water currents make up the other 90 percent of the ocean water.
• Deep waters sink into the deep ocean basins at high latitudes, where the temperatures are cold enough to cause the density to increase.

On the basis of temperature:

• Cold currents: Cold currents bring cold water into warm water areas. These currents are usually found on the west coast of the continents in the low and middle latitudes and on the east coast in the higher latitudes in the northern hemisphere;
• Warm currents: Warm currents bring warm water into cold water areas and are usually observed on the east coast of continents in the low and middle latitudes. In the northern hemisphere they are found on the west coasts of continents in high latitudes.