---
id:"kb-2026-00385"
title:"Ocean Currents"
schema_type:"TechArticle"
category:"geography"
language:"en"
confidence:"high"
last_verified:"2026-05-22"
generation_method:"ai_assisted"
ai_models:["claude-opus"]
derived_from_human_seed:true
primary_sources:
  - title:"NOAA Ocean Currents"
    type:"documentation"
    year:2026
    url:"https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_currents/"
    institution:"NOAA"
secondary_sources:
  - title: "MDN Web Docs — HTTP"
    type: "documentation"
    year: 2026
    url: "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP"
    institution: "Mozilla"
completeness: 0.88
ai_citations:
  last_citation_check:"2026-05-22"
---

## TL;DR

Ocean currents are continuous, directed movements of seawater driven by wind, temperature, salinity differences, and Earth's rotation (Coriolis effect). Surface currents (top 400m) circulate in gyres. Deep ocean circulation (thermohaline) spans the globe — the 'global conveyor belt.'

## Core Explanation

Major currents: Gulf Stream (warm, North Atlantic, moderates Europe's climate), Kuroshio (Pacific), Antarctic Circumpolar (largest, 130 million m³/s). Gyres: rotate clockwise in Northern Hemisphere, counterclockwise in Southern. Great Pacific Garbage Patch: plastic accumulated by gyre currents. AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation): potential slowdown from climate change — catastrophic climate impacts.

## Further Reading

- [NOAA Ocean Currents](https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_currents/)