RAS question
Which ocean current warms the western coast of Europe?
Correct answer: (B) Gulf Stream / North Atlantic Drift.
The Gulf Stream, continued eastwards as the North Atlantic Drift, warms the western coast of Europe.
Explanation
The Gulf Stream is the warm ocean current linked with western Europe’s milder climate. NASA Earth Observatory describes it as a strong current carrying warm tropical water from the Gulf of Mexico, moving up the east coast of the United States, then crossing the Atlantic towards the British Isles. Its extension, the North Atlantic Drift, carries this warmth towards western Europe and moderates countries such as the UK, Norway, and France. The key idea is not merely that the current is warm, but that it transports heat from lower to higher latitudes, so western Europe stays warmer than its latitude alone would suggest.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Labrador Current is a cold current flowing south along eastern Canada, so it does not warm western Europe.
- (C) The Canary Current is a cold current flowing south along northwest Africa, not the warm Atlantic current reaching western Europe.
- (D) The Benguela Current is a cold current along the west coast of southern Africa, so it is geographically and thermally unrelated to Europe’s western coast.
Concept
This tests the World Geography concept of ocean currents and their climatic effects. RAS often asks such map-linked physical geography because currents explain regional climate contrasts that cannot be read from latitude alone.