The Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by North and South American Continents on the West and Europe and Africa on the East, is the world's second-largest. This Ocean contains several major Global Oceanic currents like Florida, Gulf Stream, North Atlantic Drift, Canaries, and Labrador Current in the Northern Hemisphere and Falkland, Brazilian, South Atlantic Drift, and Benguela Current in the Southern Hemisphere. There also exists a counter Equatorial current near the Equator.

Atlantic Ocean Currents is an integral part of the UPSC IAS exam syllabus. This topic comes under the Geography part of the Mains General Studies Paper 1 syllabus and General Studies Paper -1 of the UPSC Prelims syllabus.

In this article, we shall learn about various types of Atlantic Ocean Currents, their formation, nature, cause, and effect in a comprehensive manner.

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About Major Currents of the Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean has several currents, of which the major ones are Florida, Gulf Stream, North Atlantic Drift, Canaries, and Labrador Current in the Northern Hemisphere, Falkland, Brazilian, South Atlantic Drift, and Benguela Current in the Southern Hemisphere, and a counter Equatorial current near the Equator.

Ocean Currents

These are large masses of Oceanic water moving in a continuous and predictable direction. These Oceanic currents are influenced by several factors, such as wind movement (Coriolis effect), Gravitational force, Density of water, etc.

Water can move in horizontal or vertical directions in an Ocean. The horizontal motion is termed current, while vertical motion is called upwelling or downwelling, depending on the order of vertical movement.

Read about Koppen's climatic classification here!

Major Currents of the Atlantic Ocean:

The Atlantic Ocean contains several major Oceanic currents in the world. These major currents have a significant impact on nearby continental landmass as well as ocean ecology. Following are the major Atlantic Oceanic currents:

North Atlantic Ocean currents

• Florida Current 
• Gulf Stream
• North Atlantic Drift
• Canaries current
• Labrador Current

South Atlantic Ocean currents

• Falkland
• Brazilian
• South Atlantic Drift 
• Benguela Current

Counter Equatorial Current

Read about wind and its types here!

North Atlantic Ocean Currents

Trade Winds, Gravitation, Heating and cooling of water, and Density of the water influence various currents in the North Atlantic Ocean. These currents together form a system of water circulation called Gyre. The North Atlantic Gyre is clockwise in direction. Following are the different currents that are part of this Gyre system:

Florida Current

• This current moves between the Strait of Florida and Cape Hatteras regions of the Eastern coast of North America.
• Later it translates into Gulf Stream.

Gulf Stream

• This current begins near the Gulf of Mexico around 20° North Latitude.
• It moves along the Eastern edge of the North American Continent till the Grand Banks region.
• Then onwards, due to the effect of the Coriolis force, it is deflected in the North Eastern direction towards Western Europe.
• It is a warm ocean current.

North Atlantic Drift

• It originates from the Grand Banks region of Eastern parts of North America and moves in the North Eastern direction by the effect of the Coriolis force.
• It reaches the Western coast of Europe.
• It is a warm ocean current.
• Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift distribute the warm equatorial water towards the poles.

Canaries Current

• Canaries is a cool Oceanic current that lowers the temperature to the South of the Spanish coast and the West coast of North Africa between Cape Verde and Madeira. This current is a continuation of the North Atlantic Drift Current.
• This current is formed after the North Atlantic Drift bifurcates at the Western coast of Europe.

Labrador Current

• A cold oceanic current flows between Western Greenland and Baffin Island.
• It brings cold water from polar regions and leads to the formation of icebergs that negatively impacts navigation in that region.
• It eventually meets the warm Gulf stream near the coast of Newfoundland.

South Atlantic Ocean Currents

In the South Atlantic Ocean, the currents are influenced by Trade Winds, Gravitation, Heating and cooling of water, and Density of the water. The Gyre formed here is anticlockwise in direction. The various currents of the South Atlantic Ocean circulation system are the following:

Brazilian Current

• A warm oceanic current flows along the Eastern coast of South America till 40° South Latitude. 
• It is formed when the South Equatorial current bifurcates near the Cape Sao Roque of the North Eastern Brazil region.
• It gets merged with the Falkland current at this location.
• Due to the effect of Coriolis force and westerlies, it is deflected towards the East.

South Atlantic Drift

• It is the continuation of the Brazilian current after its deflection towards the East.
• It is also known as Westerlies Drift.
• It is a cold current and reaches the West coast of the South African continent. 

Benguela Current

• On the West coast of the South African continent, the South Atlantic Drift bifurcates, and one of its branches flows along the west coast of Africa. This current is called Benguela current.
• It is a cold oceanic current and brings the cold polar water of the South Atlantic Drift into tropical latitudes.

Falkland Current

• A cold oceanic current flows from the Antarctic region up to Argentina.
• It brings icebergs to the East coast of South America and makes navigation difficult there.
• It flows from the South towards the North direction.

Counter-Equatorial Current

Counter Equatorial current is a current that flows in the West to East direction in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. It is also known as the North Equatorial Countercurrent because it is primarily found in 3° to 10° North latitude between the North Equatorial and South Equatorial currents. It is found to be strongest along the Ghana coast of Africa, where it is called Guinea Current. In the Indian Ocean, this current only flows along the South of the Equator and during Northern winter.

Conclusion

Atlantic Ocean Currents are one of the essential parts of the ocean circulation system. They have a profound impact on the local climate of nearby regions. They also help in the redistribution of heat energy of the Earth. 

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UPSC Previous Year Questions

Q What are the forces that influence ocean currents? Describe their role in the fishing industry of the world. (UPSC 2022 Mains GS Paper 1)