Editing Antarctic Circumpolar Current (section)

{{short description|Ocean current that flows clockwise from west to east around Antarctica}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
[[File:Antarctic Circumpolar Current.png|thumb|320px| {{center|Antarctic Circumpolar Current, showing branches connecting to the larger [[thermohaline circulation]]}}]]
[[File:Thermohaline Circulation using Improved Flow Field.ogv|thumb|320px| Animation of the thermohaline circulation. The later part of this animation shows the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.]]

'''Antarctic Circumpolar Current''' ('''ACC''') is an [[ocean current]] that flows clockwise (as seen from the South Pole) from west to east around [[Antarctica]]. An alternative name for the ACC is the '''West Wind Drift'''. The ACC is the dominant circulation feature of the [[Southern Ocean]] and has a mean transport estimated at 137 ± 7 [[Sverdrup]]s (Sv, million&nbsp;m<sup>3</sup>/s),<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Meredith |first=Michael P. |last2=Woodworth |first2=Philip L. |last3=Chereskin |first3=Teresa K. |last4=Marshall |first4=David P. |last5=Allison |first5=Lesley C. |last6=Bigg |first6=Grant R. |last7=Donohue |first7=Kathy |last8=Heywood |first8=Karen J. |last9=Hughes |first9=Chris W. |last10=Hibbert |first10=Angela |last11=Hogg |first11=Andrew McC. |last12=Johnson |first12=Helen L. |last13=Jullion |first13=Loïc |last14=King |first14=Brian A. |last15=Leach |first15=Harry |date=December 2011 |title=SUSTAINED MONITORING OF THE SOUTHERN OCEAN AT DRAKE PASSAGE: PAST ACHIEVEMENTS AND FUTURE PRIORITIES |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00753357/file/2010RG000348.pdf |journal=Reviews of Geophysics |language=en |volume=49 |issue=4 |doi=10.1029/2010RG000348 |issn=8755-1209}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Smith|Desflots|White|Mariano|2013}}</ref> or possibly even higher,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Donohue|first1=K.A.|display-authors=et al|title=Mean Antarctic Circumpolar Current transport measured in Drake Passage |journal=Geophysical Research Letters|date=21 November 2016|volume=43|issue=11|page=760 |doi=10.1002/2016GL070319|bibcode=2016GeoRL..4311760D|doi-access=free|hdl=11336/47067|hdl-access=free}}</ref> making it the largest ocean current. The current is circumpolar due to the lack of any landmass connecting with Antarctica and this keeps warm ocean waters away from Antarctica, enabling that continent to maintain its huge [[ice sheet]]. 

Associated with the Circumpolar Current is the [[Antarctic Convergence]], where the cold Antarctic waters meet the warmer waters of the [[subantarctic]], creating a zone of upwelling nutrients. These nurture high levels of [[phytoplankton]] with associated [[copepod]]s and [[krill]], and resultant [[food chain]]s supporting fish, whales, [[Pinniped|seals]], penguins, [[albatross]]es, and a wealth of [[Wildlife of Antarctica|other species]].

The ACC has been known to sailors for centuries; it greatly speeds up any travel from west to east, but makes sailing extremely difficult from east to west, although this is mostly due to the prevailing [[Westerlies|westerly winds]]. [[Jack London]]'s story "Make Westing" and the circumstances preceding the [[mutiny on the Bounty|mutiny on the ''Bounty'']] poignantly illustrate the difficulty it caused for mariners seeking to round [[Cape Horn]] westbound on the [[Clipper|clipper ship]] route from New York to California.<ref>{{Harvnb|London|1907}}</ref> The eastbound [[clipper route]], which is the fastest [[Sailing Directions|sailing route]] around the world, follows the ACC around three continental capes – [[Cape Agulhas]] (Africa), [[South East Cape]] (Australia), and [[Cape Horn]] (South America).

The current creates the [[Ross Gyre|Ross]] and [[Weddell Gyre]]s.