Tropical Pacific Drifting Buoys
Rick Lumpkin / Mayra Pazos, AOML, Miami
OCTOBER 2022
During October 2022, 207 satellite-tracked surface drifting buoys were
reporting from the tropical Pacific. Westward anomalies of ~1 m/s were measured
by three near-equatorial drifters at 160-170W, possibly associated with a
mesoscale feature. rather than a broader-scale anomaly. Several drifters at
10-20S, 120-140W exhibited westward anomalies, but this pattern was not seen by
drifters further west in this latitude band. Elsewhere, currents were close to
their climatological October values.
![](figa1.1.gif)
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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