Humboldt Current
Sign in to savecold, low-salinity eastern boundary current that flows north along the western coast of South America from southern Chile to northern Peru
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The Humboldt Current is a cold ocean current that flows northward along the western coast of South America, stretching from southern Chile to northern Peru. It matters because it brings nutrient-rich cold water that supports one of the world's most productive fishing regions and influences the climate of the surrounding coastal areas.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
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Humboldt Current The Humboldt Current, also called the Peru Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America. It is an eastern boundary current flowing in the direction of the equator, and extends 500–1,000 km (310–620 mi) offshore. The Humboldt Current is named after the German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt even though it was discovered by José de Acosta 250 years before Humboldt. In 1846, von Humboldt reported measurements of the cold-water current in his book Cosmos.
The current extends from southern Chile (~45th parallel south) to northern Peru (~4th parallel south) where cold, upwelled, waters intersect warm tropical waters to form the Equatorial Front. Sea surface temperatures off the coast of Peru, around 5th parallel south, reach temperatures as low as 16 °C (61 °F). This is highly uncharacteristic of tropical waters, as most other regions have temperatures measuring above 25 °C (77 °F). Upwelling brings nutrients to the surface, which support phytoplankton and ultimately increase biological productivity.