Atlantic Ocean by three inter-connected currents: the Gulf Stream which flows north-east from the North American coast at Cape Hatteras; the North Atlantic Current, a branch of the Gulf Stream which flows northward from the Grand Banks; and the Subpolar Front, an extension of the North Atlantic Current, a wide, vaguely defined region separating the subtropical gyre from the subpolar gyre. This system of currents transport warm water into the North Atlantic, without which temperatures in the North Atlantic and Europe would plunge dramatically. North of the North Atlantic Gyre, the cyclonic North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre plays a key role in climate
Atlantic Europe Atlantic Europe Atlantic Europe is a geographical and anthropological term for the western portion of Europe which borders the Atlantic Ocean. The term may refer to the idea of Atlantic Europe as a cultural unit and/or as an biogeographical region. It comprises the Atlantic Isles (Great Britain and Ireland), Iceland, Belgium, the Netherlands, the central and northern regions of Portugal, northwestern and northern Spain (including Galicia, the Southern Basque Country), the southwestern and western portion of France (Northern Basque Country), western Scandinavia and northern Germany. Weather and overall physical conditions are relatively similar along this area (with the exception of