RAS question
The Falkland (Malvinas) Current is a cold current found in the:
Correct answer: (B) South Atlantic (near Argentina).
The Falkland, or Malvinas, Current is a cold ocean current of the South Atlantic near Argentina.
Explanation
The Falkland, or Malvinas, Current belongs to the South Atlantic because it flows along the eastern coast of South America, especially off Patagonia and Argentina. It is a cold current moving northward from the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and meeting the warm Brazil Current near the Rio de la Plata. NASA Earth Observatory independently places the setting in the South Atlantic Ocean off Argentina and states that the Malvinas Current sweeps northward along the continental shelf, carrying cold water from the Southern Ocean. That combination of location, direction and temperature makes option B the only accurate answer: it is not just any cold current, but the cold current associated with the Argentine shelf in the South Atlantic.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Indian Ocean is wrong because the Falkland, or Malvinas, Current is described as flowing off Argentina along eastern South America, not in the Indian Ocean.
- (C) The North Atlantic is wrong because the question points to the Falkland, or Malvinas, Current near Argentina, while the North Atlantic is associated in the option logic with the Labrador Current.
- (D) The North Pacific is wrong because the Falkland, or Malvinas, Current is a South Atlantic current near Argentina, whereas the North Pacific is associated in the option logic with the Oyashio Current.
Concept
This tests the mapping of major ocean currents by ocean basin, temperature and adjoining coast. It recurs in RAS because ocean currents are a compact way to link physical geography with climate, marine productivity and regional location recall.