This is Kai, and this is Mo, a baby green sea turtle. Mo is about to take a big trip around Taiwan by riding the rivers in the sea!
👆 Tap the glowing circles. Tap 📖 Read to me to hear the story. Press Next ▶ to keep reading, or jump straight to the game.
Did you know the sea has rivers? They are called ocean currents. A current is a giant stream of water that keeps flowing the same way, right in the middle of the sea.
Baby sea turtles swim hard, and they can also ride currents to travel far. Mo is ready. Let's go!
🔬 Scientists once thought baby sea turtles just floated wherever the water took them. Then they put tiny trackers on them, and found out the babies are busy swimmers too!Here are the big currents around Taiwan. Warm water comes from the south. In winter, cold water comes down from the north. Press ❄️ Winter and ☀️ Summer to see the sea change!
🌬️ The wind helps decide where the water goes. In winter, the wind blows from the northeast. In summer, it turns around and blows from the southwest. 👆 Tap a current to learn its name.
The biggest current near Taiwan is the Kuroshio. Its name means "black current." Its water is so clear and deep blue that it looks almost black!
It flows north past Taiwan's east coast about as fast as you walk, and it never stops. It's about 100 km wide. Walking across it would take you more than a whole day!
🌊 The Kuroshio carries more water than all the rivers in the world put together, many times over. It's warm, too: about 24 to 27°C at the top near Taiwan.
Every spring, the Kuroshio brings flying fish to Orchid Island (Lanyu). They spread their big fins like wings and glide over the waves. Whoosh!
The Tao people of Orchid Island have welcomed the flying fish for a very long time, with hand-built wooden boats and special celebrations.
🐟 One flying fish glide can go about 200 meters. That's as long as two soccer fields! Flying fish season on Orchid Island is about March to June.
In winter, a cold wind blows from the northeast. It pushes cold water south along the coast of China and into the Taiwan Strait. This is the China Coastal Current.
Around the coldest days of the year, schools of gray mullet swim south with the cool water to lay their eggs near southwestern Taiwan. Fishermen call them "black gold"!
❄️ Brrr! Sea turtles like warm water. If the sea gets too cold, they get slow and sleepy, so they move to warmer places. (Mo's scarf is just for fun!)
Where warm water and cold water meet, they swirl and mix. The mixing stirs up food from deep down. Tiny plankton grow, little fish come to eat them, and bigger fish follow!
That's why fishing boats love these places. And in summer? The wind turns around, and warm water from the south flows north through the Taiwan Strait instead.
🔁 Same sea, different season, different direction! Go back to the map and press ☀️ and ❄️ to see it.
Currents carry everything that floats, even trash. A plastic bag dropped in one place can travel far, far across the sea.
Can you help Mo? Which one is the jellyfish? 👆 Tap it in the picture!
🐢 To a sea turtle, a floating plastic bag can look just like a jellyfish, one of its favorite snacks. You can help: carry a reusable bag, and pick up trash at the beach.
Warm currents, cold currents, flying fish, gray mullet and a brave little turtle. The sea around Taiwan is always on the move!
🧠 Quick Quiz!