Which of the following is/are cold ocean current/currents? 1. Alaska Current; 2. North Atlantic Drift; 3. West Wind Drift.
- (a)1 only
- (b)1 and 2
- (c)2 and 3
- (d)3 only
Correct — D, 3 only (the West Wind Drift). The West Wind Drift, or Antarctic Circumpolar Current, flows around Antarctica carrying cold polar water, so it is a cold current. The Alaska Current is a warm current running up the northwest coast of North America, and the North Atlantic Drift is the warm continuation of the Gulf Stream that keeps north-west Europe mild. Only the West Wind Drift is cold, so the answer is 3 only.
- (a)1 only — The Alaska Current is a warm current, not a cold one; it carries relatively warm water poleward along the coast of Alaska. So it cannot be the cold current the question seeks.
- (b)1 and 2 — Both named currents here — the Alaska Current and the North Atlantic Drift — are warm currents, so neither belongs on a list of cold currents. This is the opposite of the correct set.
- (c)2 and 3 — The West Wind Drift (3) is indeed cold, but the North Atlantic Drift (2) is a warm Gulf-Stream extension, so pairing them is wrong; only the West Wind Drift qualifies.
Ocean currents are broadly warm or cold. Warm currents carry water from the tropics towards the poles, usually along the western sides of ocean basins (east coasts of continents); cold currents carry polar water towards the equator, typically along the eastern sides of basins. The West Wind Drift is a cold current encircling Antarctica.
Classify each named current by where it comes from. The Alaska Current and North Atlantic Drift both move warm water poleward, so they are warm; the West Wind Drift moves cold Antarctic water, so it is cold. Only the last is a cold current, giving option (d).
- The West Wind Drift (Antarctic Circumpolar Current) is a cold current circling Antarctica.
- The North Atlantic Drift is a warm current, the extension of the Gulf Stream that warms north-west Europe.
- The Alaska Current is a warm current flowing poleward along north-west North America.
- Warm currents move water poleward; cold currents move polar water towards the equator.
Only the West Wind Drift is cold; the Alaska Current and North Atlantic Drift are warm — so 3 only.
- Assuming a current is cold just because it is far north (the Alaska Current is warm).
- Thinking the North Atlantic Drift is cold; it is a warm Gulf-Stream extension.
- Overlooking that the West Wind Drift is the cold Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
NDA/UPSC list ocean currents and ask which are warm or cold — remember warm currents move poleward (Gulf Stream, North Atlantic Drift, Alaska) and the West Wind Drift is cold.
Which of the following is/are correct inference/inferences from isothermal maps in the month of January? 1. The isotherms deviate to the north over the ocean and to the south over the continent. 2. The presence of cold ocean currents, Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift make the North Atlantic Ocean colder and the isotherms bend towards the north.
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Answer(a) 1 only
The same warm-versus-cold trap. UPSC's statement 2 is wrong precisely because the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift are warm, not cold — the identical classification this NDA question rewards.
Which of the following is/are warm ocean current(s)? 1. Alaska Current 2. Agulhas Current 3. Falkland Current 4. West Australian Current Select the answer using the code given below:
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 1 and 2
- (c) 3 and 4
- (d) 4 only
Answer(b) 1 and 2
The mirror-image question on the same currents. It confirms the Alaska Current is warm (so not a cold current here), testing the very warm/cold classification this NDA-I item asks for.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The North Atlantic Drift is a
- (a)cold current
- (b)warm current
- (c)tidal current
- (d)river
Answer(b) warm current — it is the warm extension of the Gulf Stream that keeps north-west Europe mild.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The West Wind Drift is also known as the
- (a)Gulf Stream
- (b)Kuroshio Current
- (c)Antarctic Circumpolar Current
- (d)Labrador Current
Answer(c) Antarctic Circumpolar Current — the cold current that flows around Antarctica.