Ocean Currents Swirl Across Globe In NASA's 'Perpetual Ocean' Time-Lapse VIDEO

Ever dipped a toe in salt water? Then you know that ocean waters are constantly in motion.

But to get a picture of how ocean currents flow around the world, you have to step back a bit. And that’s the idea behind “Perpetual Ocean,” above, an animated video released by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The video shows that ocean currents don’t just move in straight or even curving patterns, but that they swirl to create elaborate whorls. The patterns actually look a bit like the starry night in the Van Gogh painting (see below).

The video was produced with the help of ECCO2, a computational modeling project developed by NASA and the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, Calif. It shows ocean surface currents around the world during June 2005 through October 2007. There’s no narration. The goal is simply to give viewers a visceral sense of the currents.

How well does it succeed? Have a look.

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Comments

[Mahfuj]

04:49 PM on 03/31/2012

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[Mahfuj]

04:47 PM on 03/31/2012

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[turnerj41]

02:29 PM on 03/30/2012

Glad they showed Antarctica around the time of the Ozone hole

[John K Bates]

08:55 PM on 03/28/2012

So wonderful! Thank you!

[BluePhantom2]

07:15 PM on 03/28/2012

That is incredably cool! It does beg the question: How do the computer modelers take all that into thier models? Better yet just explain the why's and how's of all that?

[Anthony Peart]

04:13 PM on 01/24/2013

Your question would be better posed on a site like www.skepticalscience.com

[Watching rock grow]

02:57 PM on 03/28/2012

So cool!

[Trekkinbob]

06:42 AM on 03/28/2012

I would love the Van Gough animation for a screen saver. Nasa has been instrumental the last 50 years in the advancement of human knowledge of the universe and has accumulated data that will be years before it is fully understood. The latest efforts with the Kepler Telescope and now the Curiosity probe on its way to Mars are achievements we should be proud of as Americans. Sadly a growing segment of our population no longer values knowledge and technological advance. Instead, they value blind faith in religious superstition, war, weaponry, and suppression of basic human rights for minorities. They can barely read, or for that matter even think, but they vote.

[hsiashang]

03:01 AM on 03/28/2012

A few weeks ago I was on a cruise and one of our stops was Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. When we went swimming there my sister commented that the water was a little chilly compared to when we were there 2 years ago at the same time of year. It occurred to me that the water around the island was warmed by the gulf stream and that perhaps the stream had temporarily meandered away from the island, thus letting the water cool down. This video indicates that was probably the case.

[fisher2737]

05:57 AM on 03/28/2012

That Gulf Stream goes all the way up the east coast of the U S, then turns easterly before getting to Nova Scotia, goes by the southern tip of Greenland at approximately 59 Degrees North latitude, 45 degrees West Longitude, then continues on towards Iceland, where it then, upon reaching an area near Iceland, goes southeasterly towards Great Britain where it pretty much dissipates in other currents. That's why the winter weather, especially in the Southern half of Iceland, is "nornally" about the same temps. as New York City, "except" when the weather really gets cold. That's when the Gulf Stream really helps Iceland stave off the really COLD temps. You won't find ZERO or anywhere near that in the souther part, unless maybe associated with a huge blizzard.

[Watching rock grow]

02:57 PM on 03/28/2012

You forget the increasing glacier and snowcap runoff adding their cold water to the Gulf Stream.

[fisher2737]

07:07 AM on 03/29/2012

Any melting of the icecaps would ONLY get into the Gulf Stream in northern area, NEVER down anywhere near the Bahamas. Only in the Northern Atlantic

[wwhatever747]

02:40 AM on 03/28/2012

Looks like sperm crawling all over looking for "Mother Earth" eggs. The moon was one of the "catch."

[Big Horn Man]

01:17 AM on 03/28/2012

Nice. I was looking at the currents that should I make an attempt to swim to the shore, it would pull me away from the land. I suppose the current flow is probably the strongest deep under the water. (shudder) I was thinking of a particular river that my grandfather warned not to let my dog go swim in the water. If it did, the current would pull him underwater.

[smp276dp]

11:20 PM on 03/27/2012

That is animated. Who is anyone supposed to take that seriously?
We know it is always moving. But that is hard to swallow.

[Trekkinbob]

05:44 AM on 03/28/2012

Yeah, don't take science seriously, even tho you use it every day of your life and the fact that this model is based on observation, facts and evidence. Instead, better to read your bible and go to church. Next time you have an accident and personally need the results of 300 years of science, just tell your doctor that you don't take any of his plans for you seriously.

[smp276dp]

09:52 AM on 03/28/2012

Hey that is my opinion you don't like it. Too bad for you.

[Watching rock grow]

02:59 PM on 03/28/2012

Then go drink something easier for your to swallow.

[smp276dp]

03:27 PM on 03/28/2012

Thanks for you opinon as dumb as it may be.

[joker0037]

11:16 PM on 03/27/2012

goes to show what a genius van gogh was...he saw it some how

[secondcoming]

10:39 PM on 03/27/2012

they say that the first humans came to America over a land bridge. when you look at early Maya art it's clear that these people were not from Mongolia, or what is now Russia, they were Polynesians, they were Japanese, perhaps even Chinese and even some could have been Austrian aborigines what were swept to the Americas, or even from the Americas. Considering when you view the ocean and it's currents, and actually see ships and debris arrive from Japan after their Tsunami This probably happened quite a number of times throughout history where people were unwittingly brought to and from this country with and without boats.

[Kenn Madison]

11:31 PM on 03/27/2012

Interesting, but did you really mean Austrian? Or did you actually mean Austrailian aborigines? Just asking.

[fisher2737]

07:08 AM on 03/29/2012

Do you REALLY think there might be Aborigines from Austria? lol I highly doubt that ( sheesh )

[Cage me]

11:16 PM on 04/03/2012

I think he meant Australian Abercrombiejeans

[fisher2737]

05:59 AM on 03/28/2012

Aboriginies? I think they were from "australia", not Austria Maybe your map is upside-down?

[polyform76]

09:51 PM on 03/27/2012

How beautiful. How delightfully amazing. I thought it looked like a Van gogh painting even before I read the comment. Lovely.

[John Bays]

08:30 PM on 03/27/2012

Very Wierd - I thought of VanGogh's "Starry Night" painting as soon as I started watching.