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Tropical Pacific Drifting Buoys
Rick Lumpkin / Mayra Pazos, AOML, Miami
OCTOBER 2008
During October 2008, 380 satellite-tracked surface drifting buoys, 88% with
subsurface drogues attached for measuring mixed layer currents, were reporting
from the tropical Pacific. Westward anomalies of 10 cm/s were measured by
many drifters in the SEC across the basin, in the latitude band 10-30S.
Larger (20 cm/s) westward anomalies were also measured in the northwestern
region 10-12N, 130-160E. Elsewhere, currents were near their climatological
means and anomalies were dominated by features such as ITWs. SSTs were close
to climatological October values in the center of the basin, with warm
anomalies of +0.5 to +1.5C common west of the dateline and north of 10N, a
persistent pattern over the last few months. Very warm anomalies (+1.5 to
+3.0C) were measured by many drifters north of 20N and west of 160E. In the
southeastern talies of -0.5 to -1.5C.

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 1993-2002 (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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