A Note on Observations of Long-Term Trajectories of the North Pacific Current

Abstract

Two long-term drifters were tracked for several months in the North Pacific as part of the NORPAX Pole experiment. The trajectories indicate at least one core of the North Pacific current was centered around 37N. Velocities of the drifters indicate that the current is highly variable with eastward components ranging from 0 to over 20 cm s?1. After the first two weeks there was virtually no north-south movement. An analysis of the drifter separation shows that for two weeks the drifters moved together. Thereafter, the separation rate was approximately exponential. The separation was due to the eastward movement of one drifter with respect to the other.