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SOME RESULTS OF DRIFT BOTTLE STUDIES OFF THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA
Author(s) -
Chew Frank,
Drennan K. L.,
Demoran W. J.
Publication year - 1962
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1962.7.2.0252
Subject(s) - delta , ridge , trough (economics) , current (fluid) , oceanography , salinity , environmental science , geology , mississippi delta , atmospheric sciences , hydrology (agriculture) , meteorology , geography , paleontology , physics , water resource management , geotechnical engineering , astronomy , economics , macroeconomics
On the basis of 1,514 drift bottles recovered from a total of 11,088 released off the Mississippi delta in the fall of 1960 and summer of 1961, the surface circulation in the vicinity is found to include: 1) a current bifurcation immediately east of the delta and 2) a stagnant region south of the delta. In addition, extensive “tide rips” of sargassum weeds and debris across which are found a change in color, salinity, and temperature are often observed. These features are taken as an expression of a mass field in which a ridge intersects a trough in the sea surface. In support of this interpretation, wind effects are illustrated by examples, and a comparison is made of current speed obtained from drift bottles and other means.