Surfers know currents. This process continues in the same manner, until, at about 100 meters below the surface, the current is moving in the opposite direction of the surface current. The saltier waters of the Mediterranean sink to the bottom and flow along there, until they reach the ledge between the two bodies of water. A subsurface current is an oceanic current that runs beneath surface currents. The Ekman Spiral works as follows: when the surface moves, the subsurface inherits some -but not all- of this motion. Examples include the Equatorial Undercurrents of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, the California Undercurrent, and the Agulhas Undercurrent, the deep thermohaline circulation in the Atlantic, and bottom gravity currents near Antarctica. Cold water from glaciers, icebergs, etc. Various subsurface currents conflict at times, causing bizarre wave patterns. This is the turbidity current. In doing so, the sediment inside the current gathers more from the ocean bed, which in turn gathers more, and so on. They flow beneath the surface of the water, allowing them to be relatively free of external influence. The water at the bottom of the pileup flows away from it, causing a subsidence current. Due to the Coriolis Effect, however, the current moves at a 45˚ angle to the right of the first (left in the Southern Hemisphere). The Ekman Spiral, named after Vagn Walfrid Ekman, is the standard for this transfer of energy. The density current works on a basic principle: the denser water sinks to the bottom, separating from the less dense water, and causing an opposite reaction from it. Another factor of density is temperature. This water literally has nowhere to go but up. This high-performance water culture system is unmatched in efficiency, layout versatility and ease of use. Learn how to survive them. This current also helps Thermohaline currents return to the surface. Subsurface currents have a large effect on life on earth. Because of the temperature and expansiveness of the Thermohaline current, it is substantially slower, taking nearly 1000 years to run its worldwide circuit. The word is derived from Nordic words meaning to grind and stream. The current below is slower yet, and moves at a 45˚ angle to the right. Thermohaline (literally meaning heat-salty) currents are very influenced by heat. When sediment increases the density of the water, it falls to the bottom, and then follows the form of the land. An entirely different class of subsurface current is caused by friction with surface currents and objects. After spending an exceptionally long time in the depths, it eventually heats up, rising to join the higher Thermohaline current section. The Under Current® utilizes negative water pressure to recirculate oxygenated nutrient solution through the plant’s root zone ensuring pH and EC levels are uniform … Undercurrents are currents of water that flow under the surface of a large water body; they are like a small stream or river within the larger water body itself.