Gulf Stream Facts: Know Details About This Strong Ocean Current

The Gulf Stream flows along North America's eastern coast in a north-easterly direction right up to Newfoundland's Grand Banks, Canada.

The stream brings warm water from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. It is a swift and warm current.

It comprises two distinct currents: the Florida Current and West Wind Drift. The Florida Current runs between Cape Hatteras and Florida Straits, and the West Wind Drift is found east of Canada's Grand Banks.

The Gulf Stream begins as a North Equatorial Current, a westward flowing current from North Africa to West Indies.

Near the northeastern coast of South America, this current splits up into the Caribbean Current flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, passing through the Caribbean Sea and Yucatan Channel and the Antilles Current flowing towards north and east of West Indies.

The Caribbean Current reenters the Atlantic Ocean through Florida Strait.

The Gulf Stream is set on its path by the submerged Great Bank of Bahamas, south-east of the Florida Peninsula. Here it is joined by the swiftly flowing Antilles current, thus forming the Gulf Stream, which flows along the east Atlantic Coast of the US till Cape Hatteras.

Here the moving water is beset by eddies and swirls as warm water breaks off and a part of the stream breaks off to begin its journey southwards. This breakoff countercurrent joins the Gulf Stream again along the coast of Florida and the North and South Carolinas.

But the main part of the Gulf Stream continues to flow Northwards, swinging more to the east and moving along the eastern coast of the US and passing close to the east coast of Newfoundland, where it breaks up again into swirls and eddies.

These eddies flow towards the Norwegian seas and the British Isles forming the North Atlantic Drift.

History Of Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream was discovered almost 500 years ago by the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce De León. In 1513 in the voyage's logbook, he mentions a current which prevented the ship from going forward despite having a good wind which forced him to acknowledge it to be more powerful than the wind.

Benjamin Franklin, a scientist, and an inventor, was intrigued by the North Atlantic Ocean Circulation patterns. In 1768, he had heard a strange report of why mail packages from England took longer to reach New York than it took on an average American merchant ship.

Franklin asked a whaler named Timothy Folger, and he answered that while merchant ships crossed the current, the mail package ships ran against it, slowing them down. Mr. Franklin then sketched the path of the current with the help of the whaler and forwarded it to the British Post Office secretary.

It was printed in 1769 in London, which the British sea captains promptly ignored.

A copy of this chart was printed in Paris in 1773. In 1786, Mr. Franklin published a third copy in Philadelphia.

Cause Of Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream is caused by an oceanic gyre, which is a huge system of circular currents and intense winds. Earth has five gyres.

The North Atlantic subtropical gyre is one such gyre. The Gulf Stream is part of this gyre, a circular ocean current formed by wind patterns of Earth and forces created by the rotation of the planet.

Lighter warm water forms surface currents at the equator, which are warm, and these move northwards. It begins to cool by evaporative cooling by wind, increasing its density and salinity as it moves northwards. This denser cold water current sinks to the ocean floor and moves southwards to the Antarctic.

Impact On Weather And Climate

The Gulf Stream drastically influences the weather of the locality it passes by. Thus it has a very strong influence on the climate of the east coast of Florida. Its warm water keeps it warm in winter and cool in summer. As it flows past the European continent, it warms up the coast of western European countries.

Quite often, the Gulf Stream forms rings from a meander. This meandering produces eddies or rings of two types. The cold-core ring rotates cyclonically, and another is the warm core ring that rotates anticyclonically.

The temperature in Bergen, Norway, in winter is 34 F (1 C), while Reykjavik in Iceland, on the same latitude, is 31 F (-0.5 C)

Possible Renewable Power Source

Due to the swiftness of the Gulf Stream, it has the potential of generating power.

This power, if harnessed properly, will generate power equivalent to seven nuclear power plants. By installing a field of turbines about 980 ft (300 m) underwater, at the core of the Gulf Stream, we can tap into the speed of the current to turn the turbines to generate electricity.

Alternatively, the difference in temperature of the surface current and the colder deep water of the Gulf Stream can be utilized to tap into ocean thermal energy to produce electric energy.

FAQs

What are the three facts about the Gulf Stream?

The Gulf stream is one of the strongest ocean currents. Its flow is faster than the Amazon River. In winter Florida's east coast stays warm because of this warm ocean current.

Is the Gulf Stream warm or cold?

The Gulf Stream is a predominantly warm current till it reaches the Norwegian Sea when water starts to become colder and denser and sink to the ocean floor and begin to move south.

Who discovered the Gulf Stream?

The Gulf Stream was discovered by the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce De Leon in 1513 when he recorded in his voyage logbook the fact that a certain current was pushing the ship backward despite having a following good wind.

How deep is the Gulf Stream?

The depth of the Gulf stream ranges from 2600-3900 ft (800-1200 m) deep. The Gulf Stream is about 62 mi (100 km) wide.

How fast does the Gulf Stream move?

The stream is the fastest at the surface. Its maximum speed is 5.6 mph (9 kph). The average speed of the stream is 4 mph (6.4 kph).

What would happen without the Gulf Stream?

If the Gulf Stream stopped, there would be a major change in the climate of the two regions. One would be western Europe.

It would be like living in the deep freeze without the warm air of the Gulf Stream to make the region's climate pleasant. Another area which would be affected would be the US. Without the warm water of the Gulf Stream, the eastern coast will cease to be the haven it is.

Did Columbus use the Gulf Stream?

During Columbus' time, there was no knowledge of currents. Though he must have used it on his voyages, he credited the eastward flow of the Gulf Stream to the effects of tides than to the continuous flow of current in the Atlantic Ocean.