🔍 Key Concepts

• Major Atlantic and Pacific surface currents and how they circulate around the subtropical gyres • Difference between the North Equatorial Current and the North Equatorial Countercurrent • General pattern of trade winds and how they drive surface currents near the equator

💭 Think About

• Think about which way the trade winds blow just north of the equator and what kind of current they normally create • If the North Equatorial Current flows generally westward, what direction would a countercurrent have to flow? • Picture the belt of water between about 3°N and 10°N latitude: how does water move there compared to the current just to the north of it?

✅ Before You Answer

• Be clear on the word countercurrent – it flows opposite to the main current nearby • Recall that most equatorial currents on either side of the equator are driven westward by the trades • Verify on a standard ocean current chart which way the North Equatorial Countercurrent arrow points across the Atlantic/Pacific