Scientists have discovered giant eddies, 100 kilometres across, making their leisurely way across the world’s oceans. The rotational effect extends up to a kilometre below the ocean’s surface. They are quite beautiful when visualised (if you were in one you probably wouldn’t notice – they move very slowly). Wired.com covered this discovery in an article last year.
Read the Wired article here. Bear in mind that the colours in the maps represent height of the ocean surface, not temperature!
If ocean circulation interests you, I cannot recommend Flotsametrics highly enough. You should also check out NASA’s Perpetual Ocean, and their global sea surface temperature and currents map. The Gulf Stream is also quite informative.
