gyre
5
9.9
- noun
- /ˈdʒaɪər/
:
remolino
- Jetsam, tossed from or fallen off ships at sea, was clogging the oceans' gyres, turning them into plastic soups.
- subtropical gyres
- North Pacific gyre
All in all, the current makes one big circle that's called the North Atlantic Gyre.
- All in all, the current makes one big circle that's called the North Atlantic Gyre.
- You're on an island in the middle of the Pacific and, you know, the great gyre in the Pacific turned into the great garbage patch.
- A field in crests, swirling gyres, the moving surface fastened in June light.
Examples
-
Top predators such as tuna and other commercially viable fish don't hang out in the gyres because the density of prey is so low.
Academic text (2003) -
Each subtropical gyre is created by mountainous flows of air moving from the tropics toward the polar regions.
Academic text (2003) -
You're on an island in the middle of the Pacific and, you know, the great gyre in the Pacific turned into the great garbage patch.
-
My interest in marine debris did not begin with my crossing of the North Pacific subtropical gyre.
Academic text (2003) -
The currents in the North Pacific Ocean move in a clockwise spiral, or gyre, which traps debris in a particular region of the ocean.
Academic text (2005) -
Filter-feeding chordate jellyfishes known as "salps" dominate the North Pacific subtropical gyre.
Academic text (2003) -
Investigators aboard the research vessel Alguita observed salps in the gyre, such as the one shown here, with brightly colored plastic fragments in their bellies.
Academic text (2003) -
The ocean's gyre carries debris across vast distances, affecting marine life.
-
Scientists are studying the effects of climate change on the Atlantic gyre.
-
The strong gyre of air created an unusual wind pattern over the region.
Synonyms
81
7.2
A spinning mass of air or water that pulls things toward its center
48
2.7
A twisting, spiral shape like smoke or cream in coffee
28
3.8
A strong circular flow of water that pulls things to its center
9
6.7
A small whirl of water or air that turns back from the main flow
9
6.2
A wide, twisting downward movement often seen in the air
How Large
Surface Forms
Etymology
Gyre comes from an old Greek part gyr- meaning 'circle' or 'ring', and you can spot the same idea in words like gyrate and gyroscope. So a gyre is any circular or spiral movement, like a large water current or a whirl of wind.