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Tropical Pacific Drifting Buoys
Rick Lumpkin / Mayra Pazos, AOML, Miami
JUNE 2011
During June 2011, 388 satellite-tracked surface drifting buoys, 64% with
subsurface drogues attached for measuring mixed layer currents, were reporting
from the tropical Pacific. Few drifters measured near-equatorial currents in
the western half of the basin. Over much of the basin the westward SEC and NEC
were somewhat stronger than normal, with westward anomalies of ~5 cm/s. This
pattern was weaker than seen in previous months. Cold SST anomalies of -0.5
to -3.0C were measured by many drifters east of 160W from 10S to 30N, a pattern
seen since February which intensified in June.
During June 2011, 388 satellite-tracked surface drifting buoys, 64% with
subsurface drogues attached for measuring mixed layer currents, were reporting
from the tropical Pacific. Few drifters measured near-equatorial currents in
the western half of the basin. Over much of the basin the westward SEC and NEC
were somewhat stronger than normal, with westward anomalies of ~5 cm/s. This
pattern was weaker than seen in previous months. Cold SST anomalies of -0.5
to -3.0C were measured by many drifters east of 160W from 10S to 30N, a pattern
seen since February which intensified in June.

FIGURE A1.1
a) Top: Movements of drifting buoys in the tropical Pacific Ocean.
The linear segments of each trajectory represent a one week displacement.
Trajectories of buoys which have lost their subsurface drogues are gray; those with
drogues are blue.
b) Middle: Monthly mean currents calculated from all buoys 1993-2010 (gray),
and currents measured by the drogued buoys this month (black) smoothed by an
optimal filter.
c) Bottom: Anomalies from the climatological monthly mean currents for this month.
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