Movements of Ocean Water

The ocean is a huge reservoir of water that is in constant motion. It has two primary motions, horizontal and vertical.

The primary horizontal motion in the ocean occurs in a counter-clockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere and a clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

The secondary motion in vertical in nature and is called tides. These two primary motions are caused by many factors such as wind, coriolis force, earth’s rotation and gravity itself.

Water moves ahead from one place to another through ocean currents while the water in the waves does not move, but the wave trains move ahead.

The vertical motion refers to the rise and fall of water in the oceans and seas. Due to attraction of the sun and the moon, the ocean water is raised up and falls down twice a day.

The upwelling of cold water from subsurface and the sinking of surface water are also forms of vertical motion of ocean water.