Consider the following statements: 1. In the tropical zone, the western sections of the oceans are warmer than the eastern sections owing to the influence of trade winds. 2. In the temperate zone, westerlies make the eastern sections of oceans warmer than the western sections. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Answer: C. Both statements are correct. This question tests understanding of OCEAN CURRENT CIRCULATION DRIVEN BY PREVAILING WIND BELTS. Statement 1 is CORRECT. In the TROPICAL ZONE (low latitudes), the TRADE WINDS blow from EAST TO WEST (NE trades in N hemisphere, SE trades in S hemisphere). These trade winds DRIVE THE EQUATORIAL OCEAN CURRENTS WESTWARD across the oceans. As warm equatorial waters pile up against the WESTERN MARGINS OF OCEANS (eastern coasts of continents), they make these regions WARMER: - Gulf Stream off the eastern coast of USA. - Brazil Current off Brazil. - Mozambique-Agulhas Current off east African coast. - East Australian Current. The eastern sections of tropical oceans (western coasts of continents) are COLDER due to cold upwelling currents like the California Current, Humboldt (Peru) Current, Benguela Current, Canary Current — driven by trade-wind-induced offshore Ekman transport. Statement 2 is CORRECT. In the TEMPERATE ZONE (mid-latitudes), the WESTERLIES blow from WEST TO EAST. These westerlies DRIVE OCEAN CURRENTS EASTWARD across the oceans, carrying warm tropical waters from the western boundary currents (Gulf Stream, Kuroshio) toward the EASTERN SIDES of oceans: - North Atlantic Drift moderates Western European climate (Britain, Norway). - North Pacific Current moderates the BC and Alaska coast. - Therefore EASTERN SECTIONS of temperate oceans (western coasts of continents) are warmer than expected for their latitude. By contrast, western sections of temperate oceans (eastern coasts of continents) experience cold polar-flowing currents like Labrador Current, Oyashio Current, making them colder. So the gyre circulation explains both statements correctly. Source: NCERT Class 11 Fundamentals of Physical Geography (Ocean Currents chapter).