The northward flowing current between the Florida Strait and Cape Hatteras is called the Florida Current

The northward flowing current between the Florida Strait and Cape Hatteras is called the Florida Current. In fact, the Florida Current is said to start from the Yucatan Channel, because a major part of the water mass flowing through this strait enters into Gulf of Mexico.

The same waters join the Florida Current after some distance. After its exit from the Florida Strait, the Florida Current and the Antilles Current join together, though this joint current is known as the Florida Current upto Cape Haterras.

Though many theories have been advanced regarding the origin of the Florida Current, yet the difference between the water levels of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coast is regarded as the main cause of the origin of this current.

Sverdrup and Montgomery assume that at Cedar Keys, on the western coast of Florida, the average sea level is 19cm higher than that at St. Augustine, Florida, on the east coast.

However in the opinion of Dietrich, the Florida Current is only a direct continuation of the current through the Yucatan Channel and that the waters of the Gulf of Mexico are only to a small extent drawn into the Straits of Florida.

According to Montgomery, the velocity through the Florida Strait should be 193cm/sec, which is somewhat higher than the average velocity at the centre of the current.

It is undoubtedly true that the trade winds play the crucial role in maintaining higher water level in the Gulf of Mexico. Besides, the level of water in the Gulf of Mexico is raised by expansion due to warming, and due to rainfall and inflow of streams from the main land.

According to the measurements and computations made by Wust, the average transport of water through the Straits of Florida is 26 million m³/sec.

However, there is an annual variation in the transport of water. It is to be noted that the water level on the right side of this current is about 45 cm higher than that of the left side due to the presence of high density water on its left. On the right side of this current the water density is relatively lower.

After emerging from the Florida Strait these current flows very swiftly along the continental slope. To the left of this current the coastal waters are more or less calm, but the transition from these shallow and calm waters to the main current is rather abrupt, so that there is a distinct line formed by the border of the current.

Pillsbury of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey made measurements of the temperature, salinity and other characteristics of the Florida Current in the years 1885 to 1889 from the survey vessel Blake.

On the basis of his observations the surface temperature of this current was found to be 23.8°C and the salinity 36%o. The surface temperature of this current was nowhere found to be less than 6.5°C up to the Blake Plateau situated at 33°N latitude.

The depth of the current was found to be nearly 800 meters. However, further from the Blake Plateau there is a sudden increase in the depth and the volume of this current.

This increase is probably due to mixing of the water of the southwestern part of the Sargasso Sea whose average surface temperature is much less than 8°C.

As regards the width of this current there is a continuous increase in it as the current moves onward. In the Straits of Florida the width of this current hardly exceeds 48 km. but at Charleston its width increases to about 240 km, In the same way, the distance between the sea coast and the current is highly variable.