Sverdrup
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The sverdrup, named in honour of the pioneering oceanographer Harald Sverdrup, is a unit of measure of volume transport. It is used almost exclusively in oceanography, to measure the transport of ocean currents. Its symbol is Sv. Note that the sverdrup is not an SI unit, and that its symbol conflicts with the sievert's. It is equivalent to 106 cubic meters per second (0.001 km³/s, or about 264 million U.S. gallons per second).
Recent studies suggest that the water transport in the Gulf Stream steadily increases from 30 Sv in the Florida Current to a maximum of 150 Sv at 55°W longitude. The entire global input of fresh water from rivers to the ocean is equal to about 1 sverdrup.
The heat carried within this large volume is partially responsible for the mild climate of north-western Europe (atmospheric heat transport is the other cause of Europe's relatively mild climate; it accounts for roughly half of the effect).
To put these numbers in further perspective, the average bathtub holds about 180 liters (0.180 m3, 50 U.S. gal). So 1 sverdrup has a flow of about 5 million bathtubs per second and the Gulf Stream's maximum flow is close to 800 million bathtubs per second.
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