In
oceanography
Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynami ...
, a gyre () is any large system of circulating
ocean current
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of sea water generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth conto ...
s, particularly those involved with large
wind
Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few ...
movements. Gyres are caused by the
Coriolis effect; planetary
vorticity, horizontal friction and vertical friction determine the circulatory patterns from the ''
wind stress curl'' (
torque
In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...
).
''Gyre'' can refer to any type of
vortex
In fluid dynamics, a vortex ( : vortices or vortexes) is a region in a fluid in which the flow revolves around an axis line, which may be straight or curved. Vortices form in stirred fluids, and may be observed in smoke rings, whirlpools in ...
in an
atmosphere or a
sea
The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...
,
even one that is human-created, but it is most commonly used in terrestrial
oceanography
Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynami ...
to refer to the major
ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wor ...
systems.
Major gyres
The following are the five most notable ocean gyres:
[The five most notable gyres](_blank)
PowerPoint Presentation
*
Indian Ocean Gyre
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North Atlantic Gyre
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North Pacific Gyre
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South Atlantic Gyre
*
South Pacific Gyre
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The Southern Pacific Gyre is part of the Earth's system of rotating ocean currents, bounded by the Equator to the north, Australia to the west, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current to the south, and South America to the east. The center ...
They flow
clockwise
Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite ...
in the Northern hemisphere, and
counterclockwise
Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite ...
in the Southern hemisphere.
Other gyres
Tropical gyres
Tropical gyres are less unified and tend to be mostly east–west with minor north–south extent.
* Atlantic Equatorial Current System (two counter-rotating circulations)
* Pacific Equatorial Current System
* Indian Monsoon Gyres (two counter-rotating circulations in northern Indian Ocean)
Subtropical gyres
Subtropical gyres are formed by an intricate process involving both
Coriolis force
In physics, the Coriolis force is an inertial or fictitious force that acts on objects in motion within a frame of reference that rotates with respect to an inertial frame. In a reference frame with clockwise rotation, the force acts to the ...
and
Ekman transport. As global winds, caused by Earth's rotation, blow across the ocean surface they are acted upon by Coriolis causing movement to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. These winds cause frictional surface currents as the wind transfers energy to the ocean allowing the water to move in a circular motion. As Ekman transport acts on these circular currents the net transport of water is actually 90 degrees which drives regions of convergence, allowing water to pile up in the center of the ocean basin forming a bulge.
The center of a subtropical gyre is a high pressure zone, while the outer edges of the gyre are a low pressure zone. This difference in pressure causes a pressure gradient allowing the diffusion of water from the high pressure zone in the bulge to the low pressure zone on the outer edges of the gyre.The movement of water does not flow directly down the bulge in the center but around it due to Coriolis causing circulation around the high pressure zone in a clockwise motion in the
northern hemisphere
The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ...
and a counterclockwise motion in the
southern hemisphere.Thus, Resulting in the rotation of the gyre. The gyre has a stable circulation of water around it due to the exact balance between Ekman force and Coriolis. These gyres contribute to the
Geostrophic Flow
A geostrophic current is an oceanic current in which the pressure gradient force is balanced by the Coriolis effect. The direction of geostrophic flow is parallel to the isobars, with the high pressure to the right of the flow in the Norther ...
of the ocean resulting in the overall
Ocean circulation model
Ocean general circulation models (OGCMs) are a particular kind of general circulation model to describe physical and thermodynamical processes in oceans. The oceanic general circulation is defined as the horizontal space scale and time scale large ...
of the Earth. The movement of subtropical gyres cause areas of
downwelling in the ocean resulting in regions of lower productivity.
This build-up of water in the center creates flow towards the equator in the upper of the ocean, through rather complex dynamics. This flow is returned towards the pole in an intensified western
boundary current
Boundary currents are ocean currents with dynamics determined by the presence of a coastline, and fall into two distinct categories: western boundary currents and eastern boundary currents.
Eastern boundary currents
Eastern boundary currents are ...
. The boundary current of the
North Atlantic Gyre is the
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the Unit ...
, of the
North Pacific Gyre the
Kuroshio Current, of the
South Atlantic Gyre the
Brazil Current
The Brazil Current is a warm water current that flows south along the Brazilian south coast to the mouth of the Río de la Plata.
Description
This current is caused by diversion of a portion of the Atlantic South Equatorial Current from wher ...
, of the
South Pacific Gyre
__NOTOC__
The Southern Pacific Gyre is part of the Earth's system of rotating ocean currents, bounded by the Equator to the north, Australia to the west, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current to the south, and South America to the east. The center ...
the
East Australian Current
The East Australian Current (EAC) is a warm, southward, western boundary current that is formed from the South Equatorial Current (SEC) crossing the Coral Sea and reaching the eastern coast of Australia. At around 15° S near the Australian co ...
, and of the
Indian Ocean Gyre the
Agulhas Current
The Agulhas Current () is the western boundary current of the southwest Indian Ocean. It flows south along the east coast of Africa from 27°S to 40°S. It is narrow, swift and strong. It is suggested that it is the largest western boundary curren ...
.
Subpolar gyres
Subpolar gyres form at high latitudes (around
60°). Circulation of surface wind and ocean water is counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, around a
low-pressure area, such as the persistent
Aleutian Low and the
Icelandic Low
The Icelandic Low is a semi-permanent centre of low atmospheric pressure found between Iceland and southern Greenland and extending in the Northern Hemisphere winter into the Barents Sea. In the summer, it weakens and splits into two centres, ...
. Surface currents generally move outward from the center of the system. This drives the
Ekman transport, which creates an
upwelling of nutrient-rich water from the lower depths.
Subpolar circulation in the southern hemisphere is dominated by the
Antarctic Circumpolar Current, due to the lack of large landmasses breaking up the
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-smal ...
. There are minor gyres in the
Weddell Sea and the
Ross Sea, the
Weddell Gyre
The Weddell Gyre is one of the two gyres that exist within the Southern Ocean. The gyre is formed by interactions between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and the Antarctic Continental Shelf. The gyre is located in the Weddell Sea, and r ...
and
Ross Gyre, which circulate in a clockwise direction.
Biological desert
Gyres are sometimes described as "ocean deserts" or more precisely "biological deserts", a concept that uses the concept of
desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
in the sense of an environment lacking life and not necessarily water. Other places that are called oceanic deserts are
hypoxic or
anoxic waters such as
dead zones.
Climate change
Ocean circulation re-distributes the heat and water-resources, therefore determines the regional climate. For example, the western branches of the subtropical gyres flow from the lower latitudes towards higher latitudes, bringing relatively warm and moist air to the adjacent land, contributing to a mild and wet climate (e.g., East China, Japan). In contrast, the eastern boundary currents of the subtropical gyres streaming from the higher latitudes towards lower latitudes, corresponding to a relatively cold and dry climate (e.g., California).
Currently, the core of the subtropical gyres are around 30° in both Hemispheres. However, their positions were not always there. Satellite observational sea surface height and sea surface temperature data suggest that the world's major ocean gyres are slowly moving towards higher latitudes in the past few decades. Such feature show agreement with climate model prediction under anthropogenic global warming. Paleo-climate reconstruction also suggest that during the past cold climate intervals, i.e., ice ages, some of the western boundary currents (western branches of the subtropical ocean gyres) are closer to the equator than their modern positions. These evidence implies that global warming is very likely to push the large-scale ocean gyres towards higher latitudes.
Major Ocean Currents Drifting Poleward
''www.loe.org'', accessed 5 December 2021
The influence of the Coriolis effect on westward intensification
Pollution
See also
* Anticyclone
An anticyclone is a weather phenomenon defined as a large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of high atmospheric pressure, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from ...
* Cyclone
In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an an ...
* Ecosystem of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
* Eddy
* Fluid dynamics
In physics and engineering, fluid dynamics is a subdiscipline of fluid mechanics that describes the flow of fluids— liquids and gases. It has several subdisciplines, including ''aerodynamics'' (the study of air and other gases in motion) a ...
* Geostrophic current
* Skookumchuck
* '' Volta do mar''
* Whirlpool
References
External links
5 Gyres – Understanding Plastic Marine Pollution
SIO 210: Introduction to Physical Oceanography – Global circulation
SIO 210: Introduction to Physical Oceanography – Wind-forced circulation notes
North Pacific Gyre Oscillation
— Georgia Institute of Technology
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{{Physical oceanography
Aerodynamics
Fluid dynamics
Oceanic gyres
Fisheries science