The Gulf Stream also spins water off to its right so there is a pile-up of warm water inside the gyre,Actually, it is estimated to be at least six feet higher in the center of the Sargasso Sea than at the edges. This is all warm water since the cold winds from the west pretty much warm up crossing the warm Gulf Stream. As a matter of fact, the Sargasso Sea never drops below about 18 degrees C (65 degrees F) even in winter. That is why Bermuda, on the edge of the Sargasso Sea, has warm water corals living there. Bermuda is in the Sargasso Sea, admittedly on the western edge of it, but definitely in it.
The volume of the Gulf Stream is so large that it boggles the mind. It carries about 30 million cubic yards of water per second through the Straits of Florida, somewhere near 5 or 6 trillion gallons per second. The volume of Lake Erie goes by several times each day. Yet the Gulf Stream is only about 40 to 60 percent as large as the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
There are few nutrients in the Gulf Stream. It is clear deep blue because there is little life in it. "Blue is the color of an ocean desert." The blue is unmistakable. It can be seen on the horizon from a high spot on shore.
The Gulf Stream (Florida Current) fills the Straits of Florida from side to side and top to bottom. It is about 50 miles wide and 2500 feet deep off Boca Raton, deepening to over 3000 ft. to the north. Since it flows rapidly north, vessels stay far out in it to get a good 3+ knot north boost from the Gulf Stream core, where it flows fastest. Conversely, a southbound ship will stay as far inshore as is safe (and sometimes farther inshore than is safe) trying to avoid the strong north flow. The result is that many northbound Spanish ships,