West Wind Drift

a current in the southern hemisphere moving from west to east at approximately 40°-55°S, caused by prevailing western winds. It encircles the earth, crossing the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans; the cold Bengal, West Australian, and Peru currents branch off from it in the oceans. Its speed is 1-2 km per hr. Water temperature ranges from 12° to 15°C in northern areas of the drift and from 1 to 2°C in the south; salinity ranges from 35.0 ‰ in the north to 33.9-34.0 ‰ in the south. Along the northern and southern borders of the West Wind Drift, formed by zones of convergence of surface currents, large masses of floating algae accumulate in certain areas.