gyre

American  

[jahy^uhr] / dʒaɪər /

noun

1. a ring or circle.

2. a circular course or motion.

3. Oceanography. a ringlike system of ocean currents rotating clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

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gyre British  

/ dʒaɪə /

noun

1. a circular or spiral movement or path

2. a ring, circle, or spiral

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verb

1. (intr) to whirl

gyre Scientific  

/ jīr /

1. A spiral oceanic surface current driven primarily by the global wind system and constrained by the continents surrounding the three ocean basins (Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian). Each ocean basin has a large gyre in the subtropical region, centered around 30° north and south latitude. Smaller gyres occur at 50° north latitude in the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The direction of a gyre's rotation is determined by the prevailing winds in the region, with the large subtropical gyres rotating clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

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Other Word Forms

• subgyre noun
• supergyre noun

Etymology

Origin of gyre

1560–70; < Latin gȳrus < Greek gŷros ring, circle