Monsoon Currents

in oceans and seas, surface currents extending to a depth of approximately 100 m. The currents are caused by monsoons and undergo seasonal changes of direction. Monsoon currents are most pronounced in the Indian Ocean—in the equatorial zone, in the Arabian Sea, in the Bay of Bengal, and partially off the coasts of northeastern Africa. In the West Pacific, monsoon currents are found in the Arafura, Banda, Java, and South China seas and in the Formosa and Torres straits.

The direction of the monsoon currents generally coincides with the direction of the monsoons (in the winter from Asia to Africa and Australia, and in the summer the reverse). The effect of the deflecting force of the earth’s rotation, local conditions, tidal phenomena, and other factors cause deviations of the monsoon currents from the wind direction, resulting in complex water circulation in certain oceanic monsoonal regions.