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  2. Ocean current - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_current

    An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of seawater generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. [1] Depth contours, shoreline configurations, and interactions with other currents influence a current's direction and ...

  3. Ocean gyre - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_gyre

    Gyres are caused by the Coriolis effect; planetary vorticity, horizontal friction and vertical friction determine the circulatory patterns from the wind stress curl . [ 1 ] Gyre can refer to any type of vortex in an atmosphere or a sea , [ 2 ] even one that is human-created, but it is most commonly used in terrestrial oceanography to refer to ...

  4. Geostrophic current - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geostrophic_current

    The Coriolis force acts at right angles to the flow, and when it balances the pressure gradient force, the resulting flow is known as geostrophic. As mentioned, the direction of flow is with the high pressure to the right of the flow in the Northern Hemisphere , and the high pressure to the left in the Southern Hemisphere .

  5. Ekman transport - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekman_transport

    Ekman transport is the net motion of fluid as the result of a balance between Coriolis and turbulent drag forces. In the picture above, the wind blowing North in the northern hemisphere creates a surface stress and a resulting Ekman spiral is found below it in the water column.

  6. Coriolis force - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_force

    A general discussion by Anders Persson of various aspects of the coriolis effect, including Foucault's Pendulum and Taylor columns. The coriolis effect in meteorology PDF-file. 5 pages. A detailed explanation by Mats Rosengren of how the gravitational force and the rotation of the Earth affect the atmospheric motion over the Earth surface. 2 ...

  7. Ekman spiral - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekman_spiral

    The Ekman spiral occurs as a consequence of the Coriolis effect. The Ekman spiral is an arrangement of ocean currents: the directions of horizontal current appear to twist as the depth changes. [1] The oceanic wind driven Ekman spiral is the result of a force balance created by a shear stress force, Coriolis force and the water drag. This force ...

  8. Coriolis–Stokes force - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis–Stokes_force

    In fluid dynamics, the Coriolis–Stokes force is a forcing of the mean flow in a rotating fluid due to interaction of the Coriolis effect and wave-induced Stokes drift. This force acts on water independently of the wind stress. [1] This force is named after Gaspard-Gustave Coriolis and George Gabriel Stokes, two

  9. Marine current power - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_current_power

    Marine currents can carry large amounts of water, largely driven by the tides, which are a consequence of the gravitational effects of the planetary motion of the Earth, the Moon and the Sun. Augmented flow velocities can be found where the underwater topography in straits between islands and the mainland or in shallows around headlands plays a major role in enhancing the flow velocities ...