| MEER home | Marine biology home | Table of Contents | Index | References | Links |
 |
from NASA (NGDC) The major surface currents are wind generated (as most other oceanic currents are), creating a large clockwise gyre in the north Atlantic (the center of which is known as the Sargasso Sea), and a counterclockwise gyre in the south Atlantic . |
| An equatorial countercurrent flows in the opposite direction of the adjacent currents of the major gyres . The warmer surface waters of the tropical Atlantic are about 500 meters deep, but are much shallower on the eastern side of the basin , and are underlain by the colder water masses that are typical worldwide. The warm surface layer extends northward to approximately 50 degrees north, and in the South Atlantic to about 45 degrees south. |
Base map from NASA (NGDC) |
| North Atlantic surface currents | South Atlantic surface currents |
 |
 |
| North Atlantic current details, winter | South Atlantic current details, winter |
| North Atlantic current details, summer | South Atlantic current details, summer |
| Top of Page |
