Horizontal movements are called currents, which range in magnitude from a few centimetres per second to as much as 4 metres (about 13 feet) per second. A characteristic surface speed is about 5 to 50 cm (about 2 to 20 inches) per second. Currents generally diminish in intensity with increasing depth.

The velocity of the current is fastest near the surface, with the maximum speed typically about 5.6 miles per hour (nine kilometers per hour). The average speed of the Gulf Stream, however, is four miles per hour (6.4 kilometers per hour).

Originating at the tip of Florida, the Gulf Stream is a warm and swift Atlantic Ocean current that follows the eastern coastline of the US and Canada before crossing the Atlantic Ocean towards Europe. It ensures that the climate of Western Europe is much warmer than it would otherwise be.

The Gulf Stream has weakened substantially in the past decades, as new data and studies show. Weather in the United States and Europe depends strongly on this ocean current, so it’s important we understand the ongoing changes and what they will mean for our weather in the future.

A part of the Gulf Stream forms a countercurrent that flows south and then west. The countercurrent rejoins the Gulf Stream on its seaward side along the coast of Florida and the Carolinas. A larger number flow south and east, either becoming part of westward-flowing countercurrents or joining the Canary Current.

“Whereas speeds of surface currents can reach as high as 250 cm/sec (98 in/sec, or 5.6 mph) a maximum for the Gulf Stream, speeds of deep currents vary from 2 to 10 cm/sec (0.8 to 4 in/sec) or less.”

The Gulf Stream, the major surface current bordering the South Atlantic Bight (the region from Cape Hatteras, NC to Cape Canaveral, FL), is a warm current because it originated in warm latitudes.

Climate scientists have detected warning signs of the collapse of the Gulf Stream, one of the planet’s main potential tipping points. The research found “an almost complete loss of stability over the last century” of the currents that researchers call the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC).

It would disrupt monsoon seasons and rains in places like India, South America and West Africa, affecting crop production and creating food shortages for billions of people. The decline of the Amazonian rainforest and the Antarctic ice sheets would also be put into fast forward.

The Canary Current is a wind-driven surface current that is part of the North Atlantic Gyre. This eastern boundary current branches south from the North Atlantic Current and flows southwest about as far as Senegal where it turns west and later joins the Atlantic North Equatorial Current.

The average speed of the Gulf Stream, however, is four miles per hour (6.4 kilometers per hour). The current slows to a speed of about one mile per hour (1.6 kilometers per hour) as it widens to the north.

The Gulf Stream, located along the eastern coast of the United States, is a fast, intense current known as a western-boundary current. These currents are located on the western side of every ocean basin. The Gulf Stream is a result of the wind pattern acting on most of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Transport of the Gulf Stream The transport of the Florida Current is approximately 30 Sverdrups (Sv). One Sverdrup is one million cubic meters of water per second! The transport of the Gulf Stream increases to 85 Sv near Cape Hatteras, peaks at 150 Sv near 65°W, then decreases eastward of 65°W.

There are a number of paid services for detailed information on the Gulf Stream. Probably the best known is Jenifer Clark’s Gulfstream. She provides very precise routing information for cruisers as well as professional mariners.