ocean gyre

An ocean gyre is a large system of circular ocean currents formed by global wind patterns and forces created by Earth’s rotation.

The movement of the world’s major ocean gyres helps drive the “ocean conveyor belt.” The ocean conveyor belt circulates ocean water around the entire planet. Also known as thermohaline circulation, the ocean conveyor belt is essential for regulating temperature, salinity and nutrient flow throughout the ocean.

How a Gyre Forms  

Three forces cause the circulation of a gyre: global wind patterns, Earth’s rotation, and Earth’s landmasses. Wind drags on the ocean surface, causing water to move in the direction the wind is blowing.

The Earth’s rotation deflects, or changes the direction of, these wind-driven currents. This deflection is a part of the Coriolis effect. The Coriolis effect shifts surface currents by angles of about 45 degrees. In the Northern Hemisphere, ocean currents are deflected to the right, in a clockwise motion. In the Southern Hemisphere, ocean currents are pushed to the left, in a counterclockwise motion.

Beneath surface currents of the gyre, the Coriolis effect results in what is called an Ekman spiral. While surface currents are deflected by about 45 degrees, each deeper layer in the water column is deflected slightly less. This results in a spiral pattern descending about 100 meters (330 feet).

Earth’s continents and other landmasses (such as islands) also influence the creation of ocean gyres. The massive South Pacific Gyre, for instance, includes hundreds of kilometers of open ocean. It is bounded only by the continents of Australia and South America, as well as the Equator and powerful Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC).

In contrast, the northern Indian Ocean Gyre is a much smaller ocean gyre. Unlike the South Pacific Gyre, its extent is determined largely by landmasses. The Equator forms its southern boundary, but it is bounded elsewhere by the Horn of Africa, Sri Lanka and the Indian subcontinent, and the Indonesian archipelago.

Types of Gyres

There are three major types of ocean gyres: tropical, subtropical, and subpolar.

Subpolar gyres form in the polar regions of the planet. They sit beneath an area of low atmospheric pressure. Wind drives the currents in subpolar gyres away from coastal areas. These surface currents are replaced by cold, nutrient-rich water in a process called upwelling. The Northern Hemisphere has several subpolar gyres, bounded by islands such as Iceland, Greenland, and the Aleutians; and the northern reaches of Scandinavia, Asia, and North America.

Tropical gyres form near the Equator. The Coriolis effect is not present at the Equator, and winds are the primary creators of currents. For this reason, tropical gyres tend to flow in a more east-west (instead of circular) pattern. The Indian Ocean Gyre is actually two distinct tropical gyres—the northern and southern Indian Ocean Gyres.

Most of the world’s major gyres are subtropical gyres. These form between the polar and equatorial regions of Earth. Subtropical gyres circle areas beneath regions of high atmospheric pressure. These are placid ocean areas thousands of kilometers in diameter. Unlike coastal zones, these central regions are relatively stable. The ocean water generally stays in one place while the currents of the gyre circulate around it.

Movement of Gyres

Gyres are comprised of ocean currents that link up as they follow the coastlines of the Earth’s continents. Each gyre has a powerful western boundary current and a weaker eastern boundary current.

The North Atlantic Gyre begins with the northward flow of the Gulf Stream along the East Coast of the United States. The Gulf Stream is the western boundary current of the gyre. The gyre then becomes the North Atlantic Current, which flows across the North Atlantic to Europe. Still flowing in a circular pattern, the current flows south as far as the northwestern coast of Africa, where it is known as the Canary Current—the gyre’s eastern boundary current. The gyre is completed as the North Atlantic Equatorial Current crosses the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea. This entire circle and the water within it is the North Atlantic Gyre.

Most ocean gyres are very stable and predictable. The North Atlantic Ocean Gyre always flows in a steady, clockwise path around the North Atlantic Ocean. Some gyres experience seasonal variation, however.

The Indian Ocean Gyre is a complex system of many currents extending from the eastern coast of Africa to the western coast of Australia. The northern part of the system circulates between the Horn of Africa and the Indonesian archipelago. It is sometimes called the Indian monsoon current.

The Indian monsoon current takes its name from the wind—the monsoon—that drives it. It is one of the very few currents in an ocean gyre that change direction. In the summer, the current flows clockwise, as the monsoon blows in from the southwestern Indian Ocean. In the winter, the current flows counterclockwise, as the wind blows in from the Tibetan plateau in the northeast.

The temperature in an ocean gyre depends on many factors, including the current. The Gulf Stream and summer monsoon current are warm currents. They are heated by the warm tropical waters of the Caribbean Sea (Gulf Stream) and equatorial Indian Ocean (summer monsoon current). The North Atlantic Current and winter monsoon current are cool currents. They are cooled by Arctic winds and ocean currents (North Atlantic) and the winter monsoon blowing from the icy Himalayas (winter monsoon current).

Garbage Patches

Ocean gyres circle large areas of stationary, calm water. Debris drifts into these areas and, due to the region’s lack of movement, can accumulate for years. These regions are called garbage patches. The Indian Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, and North Pacific Ocean all have significant garbage patches. The garbage patch in the North Pacific Ocean is sometimes called the Pacific trash vortex or the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

Garbage patches are created slowly. Marine debris makes its way into the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, for instance, from currents flowing along the west coast of North America and the east coast of Asia. Some of the debris is also dumped from ocean vessels.

The circular motion of the gyre draws in the debris, mostly small particles of plastic. Eventually, the debris makes its way to the center of the gyre, where it becomes trapped and breaks down into a kind of plastic soup.

Oceanographers and ecologists are concerned about garbage patches. In particular, they are studying the degradation, or breaking down, of plastics. Unlike natural substances, such as wood or metal, plastic does not disintegrate into organic substances. It simply breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic. These tiny plastic particles are as small as the algae and plankton that form the basis of the entire ocean food web. Species such as shrimp, birds, and fish consume these micro-plastics, which oftentimes kill them. The plastic chemicals can also be absorbed by predators of these species. The concentration of these chemicals increases through each trophic level of the food chain, a process known as biomagnification.

Garbage patches generally accumulate far from any country’s coastline, and it is nearly impossible to track the origin of marine debris. The tiny plastic particles that make up most of the patches are also very difficult and expensive to detect and remove. Few nations have accepted the responsibility of cleaning up the ocean’s garbage patches.

Life in a Gyre

Scientists are only beginning to understand the biodiversity of ocean gyres. Their calm centers have traditionally been regarded as oligotrophic, or nutrient-poor, because they have few concentrations of the organic chemicals that support producers, such as algae and plankton, in the ocean food web.

Researchers have recently discovered an expansion of oligotrophic regions in ocean gyres. They have correlated this expansion with increases in sea-surface temperatures—warm waters generally have far fewer nutrients than cold water.

The University of Hawaii is taking advantage of its position in the North Pacific Gyre to further study the gyre and factors that impact it. Scientists regularly study “the thermohaline structure, water column chemistry, currents, optical properties, primary production, plankton community structure, and rates of particle export” in this ocean gyre.

An eddy, like this one made visible by icebergs, is part of a current. A current is part of a gyre.
Photograph by Nia Power

Horse Latitudes
Many ocean gyres are found in what are called the horse latitudes, between 30 and 35 degrees north and south. These areas are known to have calm waters and little precipitation or winds. Legend has it that the name refers to sailing ships that stalled in these latitudes, leading sailors to throw their horses overboard because they were afraid they would run out of water.

ALOHA!

Some of the leading research on ocean gyres is being conducted at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Scientists take regular readings of the Pacific Ocean’s temperature, chemistry, pollution, turbidity, currents, and plankton and algae communities at a deep-water research station called A Long-term Oligotrophic Habitat Assessment—ALOHA.

Term	Part of Speech	Definition	Encyclopedic Entry
absorb	Verb	to soak up.
accumulate	Verb	to gather or collect.
algae	Plural Noun	(singular: alga) diverse group of aquatic organisms, the largest of which are seaweeds.
Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC)	Noun	most powerful surface ocean current in the world, which rotates clockwise around the continent of Antarctica. Also called the West Wind Drift.
archipelago	Noun	a group of closely scattered islands in a large body of water.	Encyclopedic Entry: archipelago
Arctic	Noun	region at Earth's extreme north, encompassed by the Arctic Circle.	Encyclopedic Entry: Arctic
atmospheric pressure	Noun	force per unit area exerted by the mass of the atmosphere as gravity pulls it to Earth.	Encyclopedic Entry: atmospheric pressure
biodiversity	Noun	all the different kinds of living organisms within a given area.	Encyclopedic Entry: biodiversity
biomagnification	Noun	process in which the concentration of a substance increases as it passes up the food chain.
bound	Verb	to limit or confine.
boundary	Noun	line separating geographical areas.	Encyclopedic Entry: boundary
circulate	Verb	to move around, often in a pattern.
coast	Noun	edge of land along the sea or other large body of water.	Encyclopedic Entry: coast
complex	Adjective	complicated.
comprise	Verb	to contain or be made up of.
concentration	Noun	measure of the amount of a substance or grouping in a specific place.
consume	Verb	to use up.
continent	Noun	one of the seven main land masses on Earth.	Encyclopedic Entry: continent
Coriolis effect	Noun	the result of Earth's rotation on weather patterns and ocean currents. The Coriolis effect makes storms swirl clockwise in the Southern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.	Encyclopedic Entry: Coriolis effect
correlate	Verb	to bring different sets of data into order, or establish a relationship or connection between them.
current	Noun	steady, predictable flow of fluid within a larger body of that fluid.	Encyclopedic Entry: current
debris	Noun	remains of something broken or destroyed; waste, or garbage.
deflect	Verb	to alter from a straight line.
degradation	Noun	breaking down.
detect	Verb	to notice.
determine	Verb	to decide.
disintegrate	Verb	to fall apart and disappear.
East Coast	Noun	Atlantic coast of the United States.
ecologist	Noun	scientist who studies the relationships between organisms and their environments.
Ekman spiral	Noun	rotating column of water formed as ocean surface currents are deflected by the Coriolis effect, wind, and friction forces.
Equator	Noun	imaginary line around the Earth, another planet, or star running east-west, 0 degrees latitude.	Encyclopedic Entry: equator
essential	Adjective	needed.
expensive	Adjective	very costly.
extent	Noun	degree or space to which a thing extends.
factor	Noun	element contributing to an event or outcome.
food chain	Noun	group of organisms linked in order of the food they eat, from producers to consumers, and from prey, predators, scavengers, and decomposers.	Encyclopedic Entry: food chain
food web	Noun	all related food chains in an ecosystem. Also called a food cycle.	Encyclopedic Entry: food web
fund	Verb	to give money to a program or project.
Great Pacific Garbage Patch	Noun	area of the North Pacific Ocean where currents have trapped huge amounts of debris, mostly plastics.	Encyclopedic Entry: Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Gulf Stream	Noun	warm current that starts in the Gulf of Mexico and travels along the eastern coast of the U.S. and Canada before crossing the North Atlantic Ocean.
island	Noun	body of land surrounded by water.	Encyclopedic Entry: island
landmass	Noun	large area of land.
marine	Adjective	having to do with the ocean.
massive	Adjective	very large or heavy.
monsoon	Noun	seasonal change in the direction of the prevailing winds of a region. Monsoon usually refers to the winds of the Indian Ocean and South Asia, which often bring heavy rains.	Encyclopedic Entry: monsoon
nation	Noun	political unit made of people who share a common territory.	Encyclopedic Entry: nation
Northern Hemisphere	Noun	half of the Earth between the North Pole and the Equator.
nutrient	Noun	substance an organism needs for energy, growth, and life.	Encyclopedic Entry: nutrient
nutrient	Noun	substance an organism needs for energy, growth, and life.	Encyclopedic Entry: nutrient
ocean conveyor belt	Noun	system in which water moves between the cold depths and warm surface in oceans throughout the world. Also called thermohaline circulation.	Encyclopedic Entry: ocean conveyor belt
ocean gyre	Noun	an area of ocean that slowly rotates in an enormous circle.	Encyclopedic Entry: ocean gyre
oceanographer	Noun	person who studies the ocean.
ocean vessel	Noun	ship, boat, submarine, or other vehicle able to travel the ocean.
oligotrophic	Adjective	having few nutrients and supporting little growth.
optical	Adjective	having to do with vision or sight.
organic	Adjective	composed of living or once-living material.
origin	Noun	source or ancestry.
particle	Noun	small piece of material.
placid	Adjective	calm.
planet	Noun	large, spherical celestial body that regularly rotates around a star.	Encyclopedic Entry: planet
plankton	Plural Noun	(singular: plankton) microscopic aquatic organisms.
plastic	Noun	chemical material that can be easily shaped when heated to a high temperature.
plateau	Noun	large region that is higher than the surrounding area and relatively flat.	Encyclopedic Entry: plateau
polar	Adjective	having to do with the North and/or South Pole.
predator	Noun	animal that hunts other animals for food.
predictable	Adjective	regular or able to be forecasted.
primary	Adjective	first or most important.
producer	Noun	organism on the food chain that can produce its own energy and nutrients. Also called an autotroph.
region	Noun	any area on Earth with one or more common characteristics. Regions are the basic units of geography.	Encyclopedic Entry: region
responsibility	Noun	being accountable and reliable for an action or situation.
rotation	Noun	object's complete turn around its own axis.	Encyclopedic Entry: rotation
salinity	Noun	saltiness.
Scandinavia	Noun	region and name for some countries in Northern Europe: Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark.
seasonal	Adjective	likely to change with the seasons.
significant	Adjective	important or impressive.
Southern Hemisphere	Noun	half of the Earth between the South Pole and the Equator.
stable	Adjective	steady and reliable.
stationary	Adjective	unmoving.
subcontinent	Noun	large section of a continent.
subpolar gyre	Noun	circulating ocean current that forms at high latitudes beneath an area of low atmospheric pressure, where wind drives currents away from coastal areas.
substance	Noun	physical material.
subtropical gyre	Noun	circulating ocean current that forms between Earth's polar and equatorial regions, beneath an area of high atmospheric pressure.
temperature	Noun	degree of hotness or coldness measured by a thermometer with a numerical scale.	Encyclopedic Entry: temperature
thermohaline circulation	Noun	ocean conveyor belt system in which water moves between the cold depths and warm surface in oceans throughout the world.
trophic level	Noun	one of three positions on the food chain: autotrophs (first), herbivores (second), and carnivores and omnivores (third).
tropical gyre	Noun	circulating ocean current that forms in equatorial regions and tends to flow mostly east-west.
upwelling	Noun	process in which cold, nutrient-rich water from the bottom of an ocean basin or lake is brought to the surface due to atmospheric effects such as the Coriolis force or wind.	Encyclopedic Entry: upwelling
variation	Noun	difference.
vortex	Noun	column of rotating fluid, such as air (wind) or water.
water column	Noun	area reaching from the sediment of a body of water to its surface.
wind	Noun	movement of air (from a high pressure zone to a low pressure zone) caused by the uneven heating of the Earth by the sun.

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Editors

Melissa MacPhee, National Geographic Society
Caryl-Sue, National Geographic Society

Producer

Caryl-Sue, National Geographic Society

Sources

The source of the material in the first slide (Ocean Currents) is the COMET^® Website at http://meted.ucar.edu/ of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), sponsored in part through cooperative agreement(s) with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). ©1997-2014 University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. All Rights Reserved.

Last Updated

Oct. 4, 2014

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