Tropical Pacific Drifting Buoys, February 1997

Tropical Pacific Drifting Buoys
M. S. Swenson / AOML, Miami

At the end of February, the number of drifting buoys reporting from the tropical Pacific had declined to 180, of which 71% had confirmed drogues. Coverage is particularly sparse over the near-Equatorial regions of the east and central Pacific, but there is some evidence that the SEC on the equator at 95W has reversed. The SEC in the western Pacific has reestablished itself. SST anomalies at the end of the month are generally small (<0.5C) in the equatorial band.

Movements of drifting buoys in the tropical Pacific Ocean during February 1997. The linear segments of each trajectory represent a two week displacement. Red paths show buoys drogued to 15-m depth; blue paths show undrogued buoys.