The Hydrosphere 



turns eastward and flows across the South Atlantic to- 

 wards the Cape of Good Hope, and then northward (the 

 Benguela Current) to rejoin the Southern Equatorial 

 Current. 



It will thus be seen that there is a roughly circular 

 arrangement of the currents in both the northern and 

 southern basins, but while in the former the movement 

 is in the same direction as that of the hands of a 

 clock, in the latter the circulation is counter-clockwise. 

 This is due to the Earth's rotation, and can be explained 

 by the application of the same principle as was employed 

 in the case of the winds (see page 35). 



Of the above, the Equatorial Current, the Gulf 

 Stream, and the Brazil Current are all warm, while the 

 Benguela is cold, being partly supplied by the waters of 

 the Antarctic Ocean. 



There is in the North Atlantic a cold current of 

 considerable interest. It is the Labrador Current, 

 and flows from Baffin Bay through Davis Strait in a 

 southerly direction. On reaching Cape Race in New- 

 foundland it turns sharply to the south-west under the 

 influence of the Earth's rotation and flows along the 

 coast of Nova Scotia, and then southward between 

 the Gulf Stream and the American coast. 



It is the Labrador Current which carries down the 

 great icebergs from the frozen north, which are such a 

 serious menace to our shipping, and these, melting as 

 they enter warmer regions, by dropping their burdens of 

 earth and stones, contribute largely to the Great Bank 

 of Newfoundland. 



The chilling effect of the ice and the cold waters of 

 the Labrador Current upon the warm, moist winds 



Si 



