Question

Which one of the following is a warm current?
A) Falkland current
B) Labrador current
C) Benguela current
D) Gulf stream

Answer 1

Hint: An ocean current flows for long distances, forming the global conveyor belt, which plays a significant role in determining the climate of many of the Earth's regions. Ocean currents, in particular, affect the temperature of the regions through which they pass.

Complete answer:
Let us analyze the given options:
Option A) Falkland current:The Falkland Current (also known as the Malvinas Current or the Falkland Current) is a cold water current that flows north along Patagonia's Atlantic coast as far north as the mouth of the Rio de la Plata. This current is caused by the movement of water from the West Wind Drift as it travels around Cape Horn.

Option B) Labrador current: The Labrador Current is a cold current in the North Atlantic Ocean that flows south from the Arctic Ocean along the coast of Labrador, around Newfoundland, and continues south along Canada's east coast near Nova Scotia. This cold water current meets the warm, northward-moving Gulf Stream near Nova Scotia.

Option C) Benguela current:The Benguela Current is a cold, broad current that flows north along southern Africa's west coast. It is an Eastern Boundary Current that runs along the eastern edge of the South Atlantic Gyre. The ocean current "begins" approximately where the eastward-flowing South Atlantic Current swings northward at the Agulhas.

Currents traveling along more temperate coasts, for example, raise the temperature of the region by warming the sea breezes that blow over them. The Gulf Stream, which makes northwest Europe much more temperate than any other region at the same latitude, is perhaps the most striking example.

Another example is Lima, Peru, where the climate is cooler, being subtropical than the tropical latitudes in which the area is located due to the Humboldt Current's effect. Ocean currents are water movement patterns that influence climate zones and weather patterns all over the world.

They are primarily influenced by winds and seawater density, but many other factors, such as the shape and configuration of the ocean basin through which they flow, also play a role. Surface and deep-water currents are the two basic types of currents that help define the character and flow of ocean waters around the world.

Thus, the answer is option ‘D’ i.e, Gulf stream.


Note: Wind currents drive surface oceanic currents; large-scale prevailing winds drive major persistent ocean currents; seasonal or intermittent winds drive currents of similar persistence to the winds that drive them, and the Coriolis effect plays a significant role in their development.