Scientists at the University of Liverpool have discovered a special type of oceanic vortices that are capable of transporting marine animals at high speeds over long distances. Reported by Phys.org.
The diameter of oceanic vortices (rings) reaches several hundred or thousands of kilometers. They are like circular motions of air in the atmosphere and can carry cold or warm waters.
A new type of ring called "smoke rings" is a pair of connected vortices rotating in opposite directions. Their speed is about 10 times the speed of ordinary oceanic eddies. The reasons for this phenomenon are still unknown.
Smoke rings were discovered by analyzing satellite data on sea level and water surface temperature. Researchers have observed paired eddies in the Tasman Sea off the coast of Australia and in the South Atlantic.
These rings can last for about six months before breaking up into several smaller rings. Although oceanic eddies predominantly move from east to west, paired rings move eastward.