There are four major classes of energetic currents in the Gulf of Mexico that are of primary importance to offshore petroleum operators. These are 1) currents resulting from energetic, episodic atmospheric events, 2) currents associated with the Loop Current and its related eddies,3) vertically coherent currents below 1000 m (believed by some to be topographic Rossbywaves), and 4) high-speed, subsurface-intensified currents