The Powerful Gulf Stream

The Gulf Stream is a powerful ocean current found in the Atlantic Ocean that transports warm water from the Gulf of Mexico along the South Atlantic Seaboard, subsequently influencing local weather patterns and climate—especially in Florida. The current then turns northeastward crossing the Atlantic, where it exerts a warming influence on the climate of Western and Northern Europe, making these areas warmer then they would otherwise be. This visualization shows the warm-water Gulf Stream and its associated temperatures as it stretches across the Atlantic generating smaller currents and ocean eddies along the way.

Model output from the Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean, Phase II (ECCO2) project were used to create this visualization. The project used a general circulation model to synthesize satellite and <i>in situ</i> data of the global ocean at resolutions that resolve ocean eddies and other narrow current systems, like the Gulf Stream, that transport heat in the oceans and impact Earth’s climate.


For more information: 
      svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?3913