The Loop Current is the large flow of warm water that dominates circulation within the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
The Yucatan Current enters the Gulf of Mexico via the Yucatan channel, and is connected to the Florida
Current (which flows out of the Gulf of Mexico between Key West and Cuba) by the Loop Current.
The Loop Current flows clockwise and penetrates northward and westward into the Gulf of Mexico. It can spawn clockwise eddies that carry warm water westward across the Gulf. Onshore-offshore meanders of this current cause fronts which are sometimes associated with concentrations of the red tide organism,
Gymnodinium breve off the west Florida shelf (Tester and Steidinger 1997) .
The seasonal circulation pattern of the Loop Current, is thought to be significant in the initiation, transport and retention of Gymnodinium breve blooms (Tester and Steidinger 1997) ; the study of the Loop Current contributes to our knowledge and understanding of general circulation patterns, and to the relationships between physical and biological oceanographic processes.
The graphic below illustrates the general circulation of currents through the Gulf of Mexico.