6. Annual Mean
Velocity Estimates
Pacific Ocean Surface Currents
Expedition Menu
1. Introduction
2. Tracking Drifters
3. Drifters Pacific
4. Drifters Atlantic
5. Drifters Indian
6. Velocity Pacific
7. Velocity Atlantic
8. Velocity Indian
9. Global Circulation
10. Counter Currents
11. Boundary Currents
From Drifting Buoy Data Assembly Center
We will analyze the drifter buoy data to construct the map of the annual mean velocity of the surface currents in the global ocean, one basin at a time, first in the Pacific Ocean.
The arrows on the map below represent annual mean (average) velocities of the surface currents over several years and do not include the important variations and complications shown in the buoy trajectories (variance in statistics) due to ocean eddy currents, which are irregular circular currents many 10's to 100's kilometers in diameter.
On the map below, notice the heads on the vectors (arrows) showing direction of flow.
The length of the vector is proportional to
the speed of the current
(see 25 cm/sec scale on arrow in North America - upper right side of
diagram).
Annual Mean Velocity Estimates of Drifter Buoys
in Pacific Ocean from Drifter Data Buoy Center
Draw a representative number
of the vectors, from the map above,
on the map of the global ocean in your expedition worksheet
to show the motion of the surface waters in the Pacific Ocean
(maybe 7-8 in the
North Pacific, a similar number in the South Pacific and a few along the equator).
Compare this Diagram to Your Map in Section
3 of this expedition
