Tropical Pacific Drifting Buoys
Rick Lumpkin / Mayra Pazos, AOML, Miami
NOVEMBER 2013
During November 2013, 283 satellite-tracked surface drifting buoys, 83% with
subsurface drogues attached for measuring mixed layer currents, were reporting
from the tropical Pacific. The drifters indicated that the major currents were
close to their climatological November strengths. Very strong eastward
anomalies were measured by two drifters south of the equator at 100-110W, but
this may be associated with a mesoscale feature rather than a larger-scale
anomaly as no drogued drifters sampled this latitude band further west.

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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