South Atlantic Gyre approximately 125 Sv, this current is the largest ocean current. The Brazil Current is the western boundary current of the gyre. It flows south along the Brazilian coast to the Rio de la Plata. The current is considerably weaker than its North Atlantic counterpart, the Gulf Stream. South Atlantic Gyre The South Atlantic Gyre is the subtropical gyre in the south Atlantic Ocean. In the southern portion of the gyre, northwesterly (or southeastward-flowing) winds drive eastward-flowing currents that are difficult to distinguish from the northern boundary of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Like other oceanic gyres, it collects vast amounts of
Atlantic Ocean of the circumpolar region, near the Drake Passage and Falkland Islands. Both these currents receive some contribution from the Indian Ocean. On the African east coast the small cyclonic Angola Gyre lies embedded in the large subtropical gyre. The southern subtropical gyre is partly masked by a wind-induced Ekman layer. The residence time of the gyre is 4.4–8.5 years. North Atlantic Deep Water flows southerward below the thermocline of the subtropical gyre. The Sargasso Sea in the western North Atlantic can be defined as the area where two species of "Sargassum" ("S. fluitans" and "natans") float, an area wide and