Summary:
- A current is a stream of moving water that flows through the ocean.
- Surface currents are created by three things: global wind patterns, Earth's rotation, and the shape of the ocean basins.
- The major surface currents are pictured below.
- They flow in a clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere.
- In the Southern Hemisphere, they flow in the opposite direction.
- These loops are called gyres.
- Only the Antarctic Circumpolar Current flows nonstop around the globe.
- Each summer in the United States, at least a few people die when they are caught in rip currents.