Peruvian Current. Features and accompanying phenomena

The Peruvian current is a shallow current of the Pacific Ocean. In this article, you will learn about the features of it, as well as about the phenomena that accompany it.

Peruvian Current on the map

In total in the Pacific there are about twenty currents. They all form two main rings of water movement. The Peruvian current flows in the southeastern Pacific and continues through the Western Winds. It washes the west coast of South America from the southern coast of Chile to Peru. The current moves northward, toward the equator. At about 4 degrees south latitude, deviating to the west, it merges with the South Trade-Trend.

The Peruvian current is also called the Humboldt Current in honor of its discoverer. Prussian explorer and geographer Alexander von Humboldt discovered it in the 18th century aboard the corvette "Pissarro".

Peruvian Current: warm or cold?

Moving from the south to the north, it carries cold water from the Antarctic. Along the current course, the surrounding temperature drops significantly until it meets the South Equatorial Current off the coast of Cape Blanco in Peru. There it already grows into another current, but initially the Peruvian current is cold.

When cold and warm water masses meet, there is a sharp jump in the temperature and salinity of the water. The cold Peruvian current moves under warm equatorial waters, as a result of which various whirls and whirlpools can form on the surface of the water. Sometimes you can even hear bursts and sounds of bubbling water.

Collision of various water currents, as well as northern and north-western winds, which carry the upper stream of water to the equator, promote mixing of water masses. Cold bottom layers of bottom waters rise. Such water is rich in phosphates - substances that attract phytoplankton, which, in turn, attracts larger inhabitants of the ocean. Thanks to this phenomenon, this place in the Pacific Ocean is one of the busiest and flourishing. Here you can find baleen whales, sperm whales and notothenia, which are particularly fond of plankton.

Influence of the current on the climate of the coast

The current of Humboldt determines the natural conditions of the western coast of South America. Carrying cold water to the equator, the Peruvian current affects the temperature of the lower layers of the atmosphere and significantly hinders the precipitation.

The effect of the current on the coast is the Atacama Desert. It is considered the driest place on our planet. There is a desert on the territory of the state of Chile, and in the north it borders on Peru. Rains here can not fall out for several decades. In Atacama, the lowest humidity on Earth. And some researchers argue that in the desert there was practically no precipitation from 1570 until the middle of the twentieth century.

The unpredictable El Niño

With the Peruvian Current, another phenomenon is associated, which the locals gave the name El Niño, which in translation means "baby boy". It occurs usually under Christmas (hence the mysterious name), every few years. Then the usual flow of the Peruvian Current is disturbed by the warm streams of the "baby", which is accompanied by a sharp change of climate. The coast is attacked by storms and protracted rains, causing irreparable damage to local residents. This is one of the most dangerous and destructive natural phenomena.

Conclusion

The cold Peruvian current flows in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. By connecting with warm streams, it is able to bring to the surface deep, plankton-rich waters and to revitalize the coastal regions of the ocean. On the other hand, it drains the climate and creates deserts.