Consider the following statements: 1. In the tropical zone, the west

Consider the following statements:

1. In the tropical zone, the western sections of the oceans are warmer than the eastern sections owing to the influence of trade winds.
2. In the temperate zone, westerlies make the eastern sections of oceans warmer than the western sections.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 only

2 only

Both 1 and 2

Neither 1 nor 2

Answer is Right!

Answer is Wrong!

This question was previously asked in

UPSC IAS – 2021

Download PDF Attempt Online

Statement 1 is correct. In the tropical zone, the trade winds blow from east to west, pushing warm surface water towards the western side of ocean basins. This leads to a pile-up of warm water on the western side, making it warmer than the eastern side. Examples include the Gulf Stream (western Atlantic) and Kuroshio Current (western Pacific). Statement 2 is incorrect. In the temperate zone, while westerlies are the prevailing winds, the general ocean circulation patterns (driven by a combination of winds, Earth’s rotation – Coriolis effect, and density differences) result in warm currents flowing poleward on the western side of ocean basins and cold currents flowing equatorward on the eastern side. Therefore, the western sections of ocean basins are generally warmer than the eastern sections in the temperate zone as well, due to the transport of heat from the tropics. For example, the western side of the North Atlantic (near the US East Coast) is warmer than the eastern side (near Europe) at the same latitude due to the Gulf Stream. However, the Gulf Stream carries this warm water to Europe’s western coast, making Europe warmer than North America at similar latitudes. The statement says “eastern sections of oceans warmer than the western sections” which is generally false in the temperate zone for the ocean basin as a whole.

– Trade winds cause warm water to accumulate on the western side of tropical ocean basins.
– Westerlies are dominant winds in temperate zones but oceanic circulation patterns maintain warmer waters on the western side of ocean basins and colder waters on the eastern side in these latitudes.
– Boundary currents like the Gulf Stream and Kuroshio are warm western boundary currents flowing poleward.
– Boundary currents like the California Current and Canary Current are cold eastern boundary currents flowing equatorward.

The large-scale wind-driven surface ocean circulation forms gyres. In both the tropical and temperate zones, within these gyres, there are strong, narrow western boundary currents (like the Gulf Stream) and weaker, broader eastern boundary currents (like the California Current). These dynamics contribute to the western side of ocean basins being generally warmer than the eastern side in both zones.

Join Our Telegram Channel

More similar MCQ questions for Exam preparation:-