Ocean Current

Winds, water density, and tides all drive ocean currents. Coastal and seafloor feature influence their location, direction, and speed. Earth’s rotation results in the Coriolis Effect which also influences ocean currents. Similar to a person trying to walk in a straight line across a spinning merry-go-round, winds and ocean waters get deflected from a straight line path as they travel across the rotating Earth. This phenomenon causes ocean currents in the Northern Hemisphere to veer to the right and in the Southern Hemisphere to the left.