California Current - California Current

Japanese: カリフォルニア海流 - カリフォルニアかいりゅう（英語表記）California Current

A wide ocean current that flows slowly (at about 1 knot) south along the west coast of Canada and the United States. Its western limit is unclear, but it is generally taken to be 1000 km from the coast for convenience. It is formed by the Subpolar Current, which forms the eastern part of the clockwise gyre in the North Pacific Ocean, and turns west off the coast of Central America to become the North Equatorial Current. This current is cold, and the water temperature and salinity off the coast of California are relatively low. A notable phenomenon in this area is the upwelling current, in which cold, nutrient-rich water from the deep layers rises to the surface. As a result, the coast of California is biologically productive, and the climate on the west coast of the North American continent is colder than on the east coast. Especially from spring to summer, northerly winds prevail, pushing the surface water offshore, and the upwelling of the lower layer water is prominent. From autumn to winter, when the northerly winds are weak, a countercurrent called the Davidson Current appears, which flows north along the coast of California in the opposite direction to this current.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

カナダおよびアメリカ西岸に沿いゆっくり (1ノットぐらい) 南流する幅広い海流。その西限ははっきりしないが，一般には便宜上海岸から 1000kmのところとする。亜寒帯海流によってつくられ，北太平洋における時計の針回りの環流の東側を構成し，中央アメリカ沖で西へ方向転換して北赤道海流となる。この海流は寒流性で，カリフォルニア沖の水温，塩分は比較的低い。この海域に顕著な現象として湧昇流があり，深層の養分に富む低温の水が表面に上昇してくる。そのためカリフォルニア沖は生物生産力が高く，北アメリカ大陸西岸の気候は東岸に比べ寒冷である。特に春から夏は北寄りの風が卓越し，表層の水は沖合いに押しやられ，下層水の湧昇が顕著になる。北寄りの風が弱い秋から冬にかけては，この海流と逆にカリフォルニア沖合いを北流するデービッドソン海流と呼ばれる反流が現れる。

出典　ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典について　情報

<<: California Volume - Kariforuniakan

>>: California newt - California newt