An ocean current is a current that flows more or less permanently in one of the Earth's oceans.

Ocean currents may flow for thousands of kilometers. They are very important in determining the climates of the continents bordering on the oceans they flow in. The most striking example is the Gulf stream, which makes north-west Europe much more temperate than any other region at the same latitude. However the importance of currents is also illustrated by the El Niño effect, in which the temporary reversal of an ocean current causes devastating climatic change in South America, whose effects spread as far as Australia.

Currents that flow under the surface of the ocean, and are thus hidden from immediate detection, are called submarine rivers.

Ocean currents are also very important in the dispersal of many life forms. A dramatic example is the life-cycle of the eel.

Important currents include:

Table of contents

1 Arctic Ocean 2 Atlantic Ocean 3 Pacific Ocean 4 Indian Ocean 5 Southern Ocean

Arctic Ocean

• Labrador Current
• Gulf stream
• North Equatorial Current
• South Equatorial Current
• North Brazil Current
• Guinea Current
• Angola Current
• Brazil Current
• Benguela Current
• South Atlantic Current

• Aleutian Current
• Humboldt Current (or Peru Current)
• Kuroshio Current (or Japan Current)
• North Equatorial Current
• South Equatorial Current
• Cromwell current

• Antarctic Circumpolar Current
• Weddell Gyre