Tropica Pacific Drifting Buoys, October 1996

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

At the end of October there were 245 satellite-tracked drifting buoys, of which 73% had subsurface drogues intact, in operation for the Global Drifter Program in the tropical Pacific Ocean. The SEC is evident across the basin south of about 3N. The NEC is evident west of 120W. The NECC is well established all the way to the east coast and there is evidence of tropical instability wave activity at about 105W and 160W. SST anomalies (1C) at the end of the month tend to be positive west of 170W.

Movements of drifting buoys in the tropical Pacific Ocean during October 1996. The first (second) linear segment of each trajectory represent a two (three) week displacement. Red paths show buoys drogued to 15-m depth; blue paths show undrogued buoys.