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Leeuwin Current

Leeuwin Current is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Leeuwin Current rather than just read about it. In short: The Leeuwin Current is a warm ocean current which flows southwards near the western coast of Australia. It rounds Cape Leeuwin to enter the waters south of Australia where its influence extends as far as Tasmania.

Leeuwin Current — main illustration
Leeuwin Current — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Leeuwin Current belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Leeuwin Current to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Leeuwin Current from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Leeuwin Current is a warm ocean current which flows southwards near the western coast of Australia. It rounds Cape Leeuwin to enter the waters south of Australia where its influence extends as far as Tasmania.

Discovery

The existence of the current was first suggested by William Saville-Kent in 1897. Saville-Kent noted the presence of warm tropical water offshore in the Houtman Abrolhos, making the water there in winter much warmer than inshore at the adjacent coast. The existence of the current was confirmed over the years, but not characterised and named until Cresswell and Golding did so in the 1980s.

Track The West Australian Current and Southern Australian Countercurrent, which are produced by the West Wind Drift on the southern Indian Ocean and at Tasmania, respectively, flow in the opposite direction, producing one of the most interesting oceanic current systems in the world. The ‘core’ of the Leeuwin Current can generally be detected as a peak in the surface temperature with a strong temperature decrease further offshore. The surface temperature difference across the Current is about 1 °C at North West Cape, 2° to 3° at Fremantle and can be over 4° off Albany in the Great Australian Bight. The current frequently breaks out to sea, forming both clockwise and anti-clockwise eddies.

Physical properties Its strength varies through the year; it is weakest during the summer months (winter in the northern hemisphere) from November to March when the winds tend to blow strongly from the south west northwards. The greatest flow is in the autumn and winter (March to November) when the opposing winds are weakest. Evaporation from the Leeuwin current during this period contributes greatly to the rainfall in the southwest region of Western Australia. Typically the Leeuwin Current's speed and its eddies are about 1 knot (50 cm/s), although speeds of 2 knots (1 m/s) are common, and the highest speed ever recorded by a drifting satellite-tracked buoy was 3.5 knots (6.5 km/h). The Leeuwin Current is shallow for a major current system, by global standards, being about 300 m deep, and lies on top of a northwards countercurrent called the Leeuwin Undercurrent. Because of the Leeuwin Current, the continental shelf waters of Western Australia are warmer in winter and cooler in summer than the corresponding regions off the other continents. The Leeuwin Current is also responsible for the presence of the most southerly true corals at the Abrolhos Islands and the transport of tropical marine species down the west coast and across into the Great Australian Bight. The Leeuwin Current is influenced by El Niño conditions, characterised by slightly lower sea temperatures along the Western Australian coast and a weaker Leeuwin Current, with corresponding effects upon rainfall patterns.

Comparisons The Leeuwin Current is very different from the cooler, equatorward flowing currents found along coasts at equivalent latitudes such as the southwest African Coast (the Benguela Current); the long Chile-Peru Coast (the Humboldt Current), where upwelling of cool nutrient-rich waters from below the surface results in some of the most productive fisheries; the California Current, which brings foggy conditions to San Francisco; or the cool Canary current of North Africa.

See also Ocean current Oceanic gyres Physical oceanography West Australian Current

References

Further reading (1996) Scientists identify a counter current known as the Capes Current flowing against the Leeuwin Current Western fisheries, Winter 1996, p. 44-45 Greig, M. A. (1986) The "Warreen" sections : temperatures, salinities, densities and steric heights in the Leeuwin Current, Western Australia, 1947-1950 Hobart : Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Marine Research Laboratories, Report / CSIRO Marine Laboratories, 0725-4598; 175. ISBN 0-643-03656-3 Pearce, Alan (2000) "Lumps" in the Leeuwin Current and rock lobster settlement. Western fisheries magazine, Winter 2000, p. 47-49

External links "Climate change threatening the Southern Ocean". CSIRO Marine Research Rottnest Island context

Illustrations

Leeuwin Current: Data from two satellite instruments is used in constructing this image of the Leeuwin Current.
Data from two satellite instruments is used in constructing this image of the Leeuwin Current.
Leeuwin Current: Ocean currents surrounding Australia. The Leeuwin Current can be seen off the Western Australian Coast.
Ocean currents surrounding Australia. The Leeuwin Current can be seen off the Western Australian Coast.
Leeuwin Current: CSIRO NOAA polar orbiting satellites obtain the data generating sea surface temperature images. (Composite 15-day image showing the extension of the Leeuwin Current around Tasmania)
CSIRO NOAA polar orbiting satellites obtain the data generating sea surface temperature images. (Composite 15-day image showing the extension of the Leeuwin Current around Tasmania)

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Leeuwin Current

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Leeuwin Current claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Leeuwin Current before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Leeuwin Current ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Leeuwin Current

In research
Leeuwin Current appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Leeuwin Current in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Leeuwin Current is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Coastline of Western Australia, Currents of the Indian Ocean, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Leeuwin Current outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Leeuwin Current in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Leeuwin Current means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Leeuwin Current out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Leeuwin Current in simple terms?

The Leeuwin Current is a warm ocean current which flows southwards near the western coast of Australia. It rounds Cape Leeuwin to enter the waters south of Australia where its influence extends as far as Tasmania.

Why does Leeuwin Current matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Leeuwin Current?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Leeuwin Current.

Tags

  • Coastline of Western Australia
  • Currents of the Indian Ocean

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