Progress Report of Drift Bottle Releases in the Northeast Pacific Ocean

Abstract

Twenty-five thousand drift bottles have been released in lots of one thousand at Ocean Weather Station PAPA and at eleven selected positions in the northeast Pacific Ocean. To April 15, 1958, there have been 816 returns.The principal characteristics of the surface movement, as shown by the drift bottle paths, are in agreement with the geopotential topography, allowing for a component of movement generally to the right across the isobars. The drift bottle results substantiate the seasonal changes in surface movement implied by the geopotential topography. They also show the changes that occur between the periods of the oceanographic surveys.Frequency distribution curves, used to determine the "most probable time at sea" of the drift bottles were similar for all releases.The "most probable speeds" varied between 3 and 9 miles per day and are comparable to average speeds calculated from the geopotential topography.