GYRES

A gyre is another name for a swirling vortex. Gyres are large mounds of water with flowing water around them that are often 1,000km across. A wind blowing for 10 hrs across will cause water to pile up in the direction the wind is blowing, forming a mound of water. Deflected water caused by the Coriolis Effect is forced around a gyre. The combination of the effects of gravity, blowing wind and Coriolis Effect produce circular currents in all the oceans.

Major gyres: North Atlantic; South Atlantic; North Pacific; South Pacific; Indian Ocean

North Pacific North Atlantic

South PacificSouth Atlantic

Indian Ocean