Ocean currents are large-scale, persistent movements of seawater driven primarily by wind stress, density gradients (thermohaline circulation), Earth’s rotation, and basin geometry. They form interconnected surface and deep circulatory systems that redistribute heat, salt, nutrients, and dissolved gases across ocean basins. Major surface currents, organized into gyres, are largely wind-driven and Coriolis-deflected, while deep currents follow density-controlled pathways linked to water mass formation at high latitudes. Ocean currents modulate regional and global climate, influence marine biogeochemical cycles, and are central to coupled ocean–atmosphere dynamics represented in numerical circulation and climate models.
Accurate measurements of surface currents are crucial for coastal monitoring, rip current detection, and predicting the path of pollutants. Several methods exist to measure surface currents, some of which are costly and time-consuming. ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 26, 2026
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Stronger El Niño events are more likely when springtime surface waters in the western Pacific Ocean become unusually salty, a new study in Geophysical Research Letters suggests. Traditionally, scientists have focused on temperature ...
In the same week that New South Wales experienced four shark attacks, Victorian beachgoers were warned about stinging jellyfish.
Plants & Animals
Jan 24, 2026
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67
During the last ice age, the Atlantic Ocean's powerful current system remained active and continued to transport warm, salty water from the tropics to the North Atlantic despite extensive ice cover across much of the Northern ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 21, 2026
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The ocean is continuously ventilated when surface waters sink and transport, for example, oxygen and carbon to greater depths. The efficiency of this process can be estimated using the so-called water age, which describes ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 20, 2026
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1224
New research by Monash University and the ARC Center of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st Century analyzed close to three decades of weather data during the coral bleaching season and identified the prevalence of "doldrum ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 19, 2026
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For the first time and with help from artificial intelligence, researchers have conducted a comprehensive study of global floating algae and found that blooms are expanding across the ocean. These trends are likely the result ...
Environment
Jan 19, 2026
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The Indonesian Throughflow carries both warm water and fresh water from the Pacific into the Indian Ocean. As the only low-latitude current that connects the two bodies of water, it plays a key role in ocean circulation and ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 14, 2026
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In order to understand currents, tides and other ocean dynamics, scientists need to accurately capture sea surface height, or a snapshot of the ocean's surface, including peaks and valleys due to changes in wind, currents ...
Earth Sciences
Jan 9, 2026
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When oily plastic and glass, as well as rubber, washed onto Florida beaches in 2020, a community group shared the mystery online, attracting scientists' attention. Working together, they linked the black residue-coated debris ...
Environment
Jan 7, 2026
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