At the end of July there were 252 satellite-tracked drifting buoys, of which 77% had subsurface drogues intact, in operation for the WOCE/CLIVAR Surface Velocity Program in the tropical Pacific Ocean.The three major currents are all well-established. The equatorial currents in the eastern part of the basin are particularly strong, with one buoy traveling over 1500 km in 3 weeks. SST anomalies at the end of the month are positive in the western equatorial strip (< 1 degree C). Near the Galapagos Islands negative anomalies (<=2 degrees C) are evident. Strong positive anomalies (2 degrees C) persist near the American coast near 125W, 25N.

FIGURE T26 - Movements of drifting buoys in the tropical Pacific Ocean during July 1995. The first (second) linear segment of the trajectories represents two (three) week displacements. Solid paths show buoys drogued to 15-m depth; dotted paths show undrogued buoys.