What is a gyre?
Q: What is a gyre?
A: A gyre is a large system of ocean currents moving in a circle.
Q: What causes gyres?
A: Gyres are caused by the Coriolis effect.
Q: How do ocean currents move in the northern hemisphere?
A: Ocean currents in the northern hemisphere tend to move in a clockwise direction.
Q: How do ocean currents move in the southern hemisphere?
A: Ocean currents in the southern hemisphere move in an anti-clockwise direction.
Q: What is the Coriolis force?
A: The Coriolis force is a force that acts most strongly on the wind and creates a torque that tends to spin the ocean currents.
Q: Why are gyres pushed against the eastern coast of continents?
A: Gyres form strong currents on the western side of oceans and are pushed against the eastern coast of continents.
Q: What balances out the vorticity of gyres?
A: Frictional surface currents normally act against the spin of the water and balance out the vorticity of gyres, but in the middle of the ocean, the effects of friction are very weak.
