Sverdrup
F5. The Reference Layer: Glossary, Units, Signals and Information SourcesDefinition
Unit of ocean volume transport, 1 Sv equals 10^6 cubic meters per second.
The sverdrup (Sv) is the oceanographic unit of volume transport, 1 Sv = 1,000,000 m3/s, used to size ocean currents in weather routing and climatology. The Gulf Stream carries roughly 30 Sv off Florida rising past 100 Sv downstream; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current is the largest at about 130 to 150 Sv. It is named after Harald Sverdrup and is not an SI unit. It is distinct from the sverdrup used for some other transport quantities, but in ship routing it always means volume flux of seawater.