Page 224 - NS-2 Textbook

OCEANOGRAPHY 219

The major ocean currents and gyres.

Great Britain! and Western Europe much V\Tarmer than
other regions in the same latitude. In the late summer
and early fall, the southem side of the Sargasso Sea is the
spawning ground for hurricanes! 'which are severe
storms with winds greater than 75 mph. These storms,
driven by winds higher in the atmosphere, often follow
the Gulf Stream into the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mex-
ico or up the East Coast of the United States. TIley often
leave a trail of destruction before dissipating in the high
latihtdes of the North Atlantic.
The Kuroshio Current. TIle Kuroshio or Japan Current
originates from the greater part of the (Pacific) North
Equatorial Current. Like the Gulf Stream, which flows
northwestward on the Atlantic side of the state of current
Florida, the Kuroshio Current flows northwestward from
Japan's Ryukyu Islands. r
During the year there are on average hventy ty-
phoons in the western Pacific. Typhoons are the Pacific
equivalent of hurricanes. Spawned in the region of
the North Equatorial Current, just north of the equator,
they often roar along the track of the Kuroshio, particu- The Atlantic Ocean, showing the Gulf Stream-North Atlantic Drift
larly during the late summer months, when high- and the Sargasso Sea. The North Atlantic gyre is clearly shown. The
cold Labrador Current to the west of Greenland brings down ice-
level hemispheric vdnds flow in a similar pattern. Dur- bergs that have calved (broken away) from western Greenland's
ing the cooler months, the typhoon track is through the glaciers.