North Atlantic Current of Northwestern Europe. Other branches include the Irminger Current and the Norwegian Current. Driven by the global thermohaline circulation, the North Atlantic Current is part of the wind-driven Gulf Stream, which goes further east and north from the North American coast across the Atlantic and into the Arctic Ocean. The North Atlantic Current, together with the Gulf Stream, have a long-lived reputation for having a considerable warming influence on European climate. However, the principal cause for differences in winter climate between North America and Europe seems to be winds rather than ocean currents (although the currents do exert influence at
South Equatorial Current is driven directly by the trade winds which blow from east to west. In the Indian Ocean, the westward-flowing South Equatorial Current is well-developed only south of the equator. Directly on the equator, the winds reverse twice a year due to the monsoons, and so the surface current can be either eastward or westward. South Equatorial Current Ocean current in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Ocean that flows east-to-west between the equator and about 20 degrees south. In the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, it extends across the equator to about 5 degrees north. Within the southern hemisphere, the South Equatorial