Knowra North Atlantic Current North Atlantic Current The North Atlantic Current is an eastward-flowing current that carries water from the Gulf Stream system into the North Atlantic. It branches into flows that help redistribute heat toward western Europe and the Arctic.
Gulf Stream : A strong western boundary current that carries warm water northward along the eastern coast of North America. The North Atlantic Current continues the Gulf Stream system eastward after its separation from the western boundary.
Atlantic meridional overturning circulation : A basin-scale Atlantic circulation that transports warm upper waters northward and returns colder deep waters southward. The North Atlantic Current contributes to its northward upper-ocean transport, but is not the whole overturning circulation.
European climate : The regional climates of Europe, shaped by latitude, atmospheric circulation, topography, and nearby seas. Heat transported into the eastern Atlantic influences, but does not solely determine, European climate.
Gulf Stream Extension : The eastward continuation of the Gulf Stream after it leaves the North American coast and approaches the North Atlantic. It lies upstream of the North Atlantic Current, though the boundary between their names is not always used consistently.
North Atlantic Drift : A broad northeastward flow of relatively warm water in the eastern North Atlantic, associated with branches of the North Atlantic Current. This name is often used for the current’s northeastward extension toward Europe.
Thermohaline circulation : Ocean circulation influenced by differences in water density caused by temperature and salinity. Density changes help connect the current’s surface waters to sinking and return flows farther north.
Ocean heat transport : The transfer of thermal energy by moving ocean water from one region to another. The North Atlantic Current transports heat northeastward across the Atlantic.
Labrador Current : A cold southward-flowing current along the Labrador coast and eastern Canada. Its cold flow opposes the warm-water transport associated with the North Atlantic Current in the western subpolar region.
Subpolar Gyre : A large counterclockwise circulation of surface water in the subpolar North Atlantic. Its circulation shapes the North Atlantic Current’s northern branches and water-mass exchanges.
Western boundary current : A narrow, fast current flowing along the western edge of an ocean basin as part of a gyre. The Gulf Stream’s western-boundary flow feeds the eastward current across the basin.
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