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20 Effects of Ocean Currents on Economic Activities

by Fitriani

Ocean currents are continuous moving water in the oceans that are crucial to the world due to their functions. Not only do they affect the overall functioning of every ocean, they also affect human activities. Most of these activities affect people socially, but most importantly they help in their economic needs. Here are the 20 Effects of Ocean Currents on Economic Activities that you should know about.

1. Save Money for Cargo Transport

Ships are important to carry goods across the continents. These goods are often placed in cargo. The ships rely on the wind and, most importantly, the ocean currents. They help in determining the best route to travel in the oceans. By knowing which ocean currents can help the ships travel quicker and with less fuel, the ships can save money for their transport cost.

2. Create Fishing Ground

Fishing grounds are important for both fishermen and the big fishing industries. By knowing where fish are most abundant, the fishing business can earn more money for their living. Ocean currents play a major role in producing the food that fish feed on. With more food at a specific area, more fish will come and breed. The fishing industries can use this to their advantage. For instance, the eastern coast area in North America is the biggest fishing ground in the world. Gulf Stream and Labrador currents help the fish to flourish.

3. Generating Electricity

Ocean currents can help more waves to generate electricity. This electricity is a form of renewable energy that will not create any pollution. The technology is often used in islands. Thus, from the power generated by the currents, the people in the island can continue with their daily works.

4. Increase Storms

Storms rely on ocean currents to gain power. Sometimes ocean currents may cause storms to become stronger. Once the storms move inland, people’s lives can be devastated. Other than damage to homes and the roads, crops and farms will suffer too. Those things are very important for people to carry on with their lives. Without them, people can lose their source of income and they also won’t have any shelter.

5. Bring in Tourists to Dry Places

Ocean currents can cause places to become extremely dry, such as the deserts. The currents are able to bring in dry, warm air to the area. Deserts help the regions to earn money from tourists. Some popular deserts in the world are the Sahara desert, Arabian desert and the Atacama desert. The Atacama desert is influenced by the Humboldt currents.

6. Lumbering Business

Warm ocean currents can bring more rainfall to inland. They create the necessary amount of rain needed over a certain area like the forests. With more rain to the forest area, more plants can flourish. Lumbering business need a lot of trees. The rainfall can help in more trees to grow. So the business can still operate and the forest can still be healthy.

7. Allow Crops to Grow

The rainfall caused by the warm ocean currents are also important for agriculture. Crops need water to grow. Crops such as cocoa, cloves or sugarcane rely on plenty of water. Rainfall can make the crops have higher rating of growing. They will allow farmers to have successful harvest season. The crops will help them with their livelihood.

8. Increase Plankton Growth

Ocean currents can increase the amount of plankton that grows in the water. This especially applies when two kinds of currents meet. When both cold and warm currents mix in the sea water, the oxygen level is increased. Planktons need those oxygen so they can keep growing. As a result, fish can feed on them. More planktons mean more fish population. Many people fish for hobby but most depend on fish for income.

9. Ship Endangerment

One of the bad effects that ocean currents can cause is ship endangerment. Ocean currents can cause the weather over an area of the ocean to become dangerous. They can help the air to form thick fog which will make it hard for ships to navigate. It increases the chance for damage and slows down the speed of the travel.

10. Reduce Icebergs Formation

Ocean currents can actually help in preventing too many icebergs to form along the coastlines and in some parts of the ocean. It’s all due to the warm currents. When too many ice forms along the coastlines, ships will find it hard to transport their goods. The ice also makes it hard to move around. It will definitely hinder any activity around the coastlines.

11. Encourage Coral Reefs Growth

The currents of the ocean keep the coral reefs in the oceans to grow. They bring important food for the corals. They also keep the temperature and the salinity of the ocean water in a perfect condition for the corals. Corals are important investments for people and many countries as they can bring income too.

12. Provide Coral Reefs Tourism

Healthy coral reefs maintained by the ocean currents can provide coral reefs tourism. People can come into the area to provide jobs and income to the region. It also promotes the importance of marine creatures to a wider audience. People and the ocean can benefit from coral reefs.

13. Provide Cement Material

Coral reefs can actually provide cement material for people to use. The cement can be a source of economic boost in terms of helping a certain region to improve its infrastructure. Without any ocean currents, the corals can’t provide the cement.

14. Maintain Climate Over Beaches

Ocean currents also maintain the climate over beaches. They affect what the weather and the temperature is like over there. It affects on the amount of people that would go into the beach for a period of time. Thus, it results in a variation of income to the area.

15. Distributing Nutrients

Ocean currents heavily distributes important nutrients to all the parts of the world’s oceans. The nutrients feed many aquatic creatures. Without the nutrients, many will die. The economic activities and industries will receive the negative impacts too.

Other Effects (16-20)

Here are more effects from the ocean currents.

  • Cruise Ships: Give routes for cruise ships.
  • Filming: Provide dry deserts that could be used in the film industries.
  • Coastal Souvenirs: Currents bring in ocean souvenirs for people.
  • Land Damage: Currents cause loss of land due to their power.
  • Waste Cost: Currents distribute waste and it takes a lot of time, people and money to clean them up.

Without ocean currents, these activities would be hard for humans to carry out. The least that humans can do the ocean is to take care of it, as the ocean has given so many opportunities to us.

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