Recoveries from 1964 through 1968 of Drift Bottles Released from a Merchant Vessel, S.S. Java Mail, en Route Seattle to Yokohama, October 1964

摘要

During October 1964, drift bottles were released from a merchantvessel at intervals of about 80 miles during a voyage from Seattle, Washington toYokohama, Japan. Of 3,840 bottles released, 121 have been recovered. Returns fromfour release areas are divided among four regions: Coastal, Eastern Subarctic, CentralSubarctic, and Western Subarctic. Coastal recoveries reflect the northward driftalong the coasts of Washington and British Columbia during winter. Recoveriesfrom releases in the Eastern Subarctic show well-defined zonal flow to the west coastof North America. New information concerning the divergence of the SubarcticCurrent during winter was obtained from releases in the Central Subarctic.The long period between release and recovery of the bottles, from all but Coastaland Central Subarctic releases, makes it difficult to derive much new informationabout circulation in this region where extensive drift-bottle studies have been made.A system of drifting buoys tracked by satellites would provide valuable informationto oceanographers, meteorologists, and fisheries research.