Tropical Pacific Drifting Buoys
M.S. Swenson / AOML, Miami
At the end of May there were 295 satellite-tracked drifting buoys,
of which 75% had subsurface drogues intact,
in operation for the WOCE/CLIVAR Surface Velocity
Program in the tropical Pacific Ocean. The SEC is evident
across the basin south of the equator, although there are eastward
currents in the western equatorial
region. Evidence of the NECC is limited to the eastern part of the
basin and the NEC is continuous across the
basin. SST anomalies at the end of the month are generally small
in the equatorial band.
Movements of drifting buoys in the tropical Pacific Ocean during May 1996.
The first (second) linear segment of each trajectory represents a two (three)
week displacement. Red (solid) paths show buoys drogued
to 15-m depth; blue (dotted) paths show undrogued buoys.