The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica. Lying in the Southern Ocean between the latitudes of 40S and 60S, it is the only current that circumnavigates the globe, due to the lack of continental boundaries to disrupt it. As such, the ACC plays a crucial role in the global ocean circulation, connecting the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean basins.
The ACC also contains the Antarctic Circumpolar Wave, a periodic oscillation that affects the climate of much of the southern hemisphere.