Antarctic Circumpolar Current

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current is the eastward-flowing ocean current that circles Antarctica uninterrupted by continents. It links the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans and transports water, heat, and nutrients around the Southern Ocean.

Westerlies: The persistent midlatitude winds that blow from west to east in both hemispheres. These winds drive the current eastward across the Southern Ocean.
Meridional overturning circulation: Large-scale ocean circulation that moves water between the surface and deep ocean across latitudes. The current helps connect overturning circulation between the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific basins.
James Cook: A British naval officer and explorer who led three major Pacific voyages in the eighteenth century. His Antarctic voyages helped establish the presence of open ocean around the southern polar region.
North Atlantic Gyre: A large subtropical circulation system in the North Atlantic bounded by continents. Unlike this enclosed gyre, the Antarctic current can circle the globe without continental barriers.
Ekman transport: The net movement of water caused by wind-driven currents turning with depth under the Coriolis effect. Wind-driven Ekman transport helps create the northward and southward flow that balances the current.
Antarctic Bottom Water: A dense, cold water mass formed around Antarctica that spreads along the deep ocean floor. The current’s fronts and mixing influence how Antarctic waters enter the deep ocean.
James Clark Ross: A British naval officer and polar explorer who led Antarctic expeditions in the nineteenth century. His voyages gathered early observations of Antarctic seas and their circulation.
South Pacific Gyre: A large subtropical circulation system in the South Pacific Ocean. Its basin-scale recirculation contrasts with the current’s continuous eastward circumpolar path.
Coriolis effect: The apparent deflection of moving objects caused by Earth’s rotation. Earth’s rotation shapes the current’s circulation and its interaction with the winds.
Ocean heat transport: The movement of thermal energy through the ocean by currents and mixing. The current redistributes heat while limiting direct exchange between Antarctic and warmer waters.

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