Ocean current distribution map (click on the picture to enlarge)
2. According to the nature, there are two kinds, namely warm current and cold current. The exact meaning of warm current is that it flows from the sea area with high water temperature to the sea area with low water temperature, mostly from low latitude to high latitude or downward. For example: Japanese warm current, Gulf warm current. Similarly, the accurate meaning of cold current is that it flows from the sea area with low water temperature to the sea area with high water temperature, mostly from high latitude to low latitude or upwelling. For example: thousand island cold current, Labrador cold current.
3. According to geographical location, it can be divided into four types, namely equatorial current, large ocean current, polar current and coastal current. Equatorial current means distributed near the equator. For example: north-south equatorial warm current, equatorial countercurrent. Large ocean currents are mainly distributed in ocean centre. Polar current is mainly distributed in polar waters. For example: Antarctic circumpolar current. This is not common in the college entrance examination. Coastal current is mainly coastal current, which is greatly influenced by land.
Influence of prevailing wind on ocean current
As we all know, there are three common factors that affect the distribution of ocean currents: prevailing wind, land-sea distribution (including seawater density) and geostrophic deflection.
In fact, prevailing winds have played a great role in ocean currents, and there is no smoke without fire. For example, due to the influence of the northeast trade wind, the winter ocean current in the northern equatorial warm current and the northern Indian Ocean monsoon current flows counterclockwise. There are other knowledge points that everyone will introduce online or in textbooks.
How should we remember the direction and distribution of ocean currents? In fact, there are many ways to remember, including 8-character method, 0-character method and one-by-one reasoning method of ocean current formation.
Ocean current distribution map
The method I want to talk about below is the method I used to remember the names and distribution positions of cold and warm air currents in high school.
Distribution law map of ocean currents in the northern hemisphere
First of all, I divide ocean currents into the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere, and the northern hemisphere will not analyze the Indian Ocean waters first. Everyone looks from right to left, with the black line as the dividing line, divided into two parts, the red arrow indicates warm current and the purple arrow indicates cold current. First look at the warm current of the red arrow. In the northern hemisphere, the warm current basically flows from low latitude to high latitude. In the location where the cold current and warm current are recorded, we can see that on both sides of the continent, except the North Atlantic warm current and the North Equatorial warm current, the red arrows are distributed below, above, below and above the black line from right to left, and so are the purple arrows: above, below, above and below the black line.
So, after you see the mainland, you can know whether it is cold or warm by drawing a map of the mainland on paper. It is also easy to remember the names of ocean currents. Just look at the map and the location of ocean currents after class, and it is easy to remember the names of your area, such as the Japanese warm current and the Kuril Islands cold current. For the Indian Ocean, as long as the principle of winter against summer is followed, it is counterclockwise in winter and clockwise in summer.
Distribution law map of southern hemisphere ocean current
For the location memory method of cold and warm air distribution in the southern hemisphere, we can see that the above picture is also from right to left. In fact, skills can be seen at a glance. The warm current is located on the east coast of the mainland, and the cold current is located on the west coast of the mainland. Memory method from right to left is warm-cold-warm-cold-warm-cold. Some people may wonder why the warm current started first. The principle is that the north equatorial warm current and the south equatorial warm current are influenced by the southeast trade wind (the wind blowing from the southeast) and the northeast trade wind, and are blocked by the North and South American continents and move sideways. Therefore, in the mnemonic method, the warm current begins near the equator in the northern hemisphere and begins near the equator in the southern hemisphere. In fact, the earth is connected, and there is no warm current or cold current at first, just for the convenience of analysis in the picture. In the same way, remember that the name of the cold and warm current is the same as the name of the northern hemisphere continent, just combining the reasons for its formation with the name of the region. For example: Peru cold current.
There are still many knowledge points about ocean currents that need to be mastered, including the impact of ocean currents on the geographical environment, fishing grounds and so on. As long as you study hard, find information, get full marks in ocean currents, or get full marks in geography, you can do it. After three years of college entrance examination in Bian Xiao, mistakes are inevitable. I think the summary is not bad, and the method is not bad. Don't forget to praise it. If you have any questions, you can leave a message below to learn and discuss. Learn the method and show it to relatives and friends!