Previous Year Question
Consider the following statements:
In the tropical zone, the western sections of the oceans are warmer than the eastern sections owing to the influence of trade winds.
In the temperate zone, westerlies make the eastern sections of oceans warmer than the western sections.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
Surface ocean currents are primarily driven by prevailing winds. Their direction is also influenced by the Earth’s rotation, the Coriolis force and the position of continents.
Statement 1 is correct: In the tropical zone, trade winds blow from east to west. They push warm surface water towards the western parts of the oceans, causing warm water to accumulate there. In contrast, upwelling of cold water and cold eastern boundary currents keep temperatures lower in the eastern parts.
Statement 2 is correct: In temperate latitudes, westerlies blow from west to east and help transport ocean water eastwards. Consequently, the eastern parts of the oceans at these latitudes are relatively warmer. The warming of the eastern North Atlantic and Western Europe by the North Atlantic Current is a prominent example.
It should be remembered that the western part of an ocean lies near the eastern coasts of continents, while the eastern part of an ocean lies near the western coasts of continents.