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Drifting buoy trajectories in the Atlantic North Equatorial Countercurrent during 1983
Author(s) -
Richardson P. L.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl011i008p00745
Subject(s) - countercurrent exchange , buoy , current (fluid) , geology , climatology , oceanography , ocean current , gulf stream , meteorology , geography , physics , thermodynamics
During 1983, 21 freely drifting buoys measured trajectories in the vicinity of the Atlantic North Equatorial Countercurrent. These provide a visualization of the flow field and the first direct measure of the seasonal variation of the velocity during a single year. From February to May the buoys moved gradually westward. From June to December the buoys moved swiftly eastward with maximum speeds of 90 cm sec −1 located in the western Atlantic. The seasonal variation in current was similar to that measured by historical ship drifts except that the onset of the Countercurrent in 1983 was about a month earlier than usual. Of the buoys that drifted eastward in the Countercurrent, three went into the North Equatorial Current, two into the South Equatorial Current and seven into the Guinea Current.