SUMMARY 



LITERATURE CITED 



1. From January 1961 through June 1963, a 

 total of 16,285 drift bottles and cards were re- 

 leased in the central and western Pacific Ocean, 

 the majority in the vicinity of the Hawaiian 

 Islands. 



2. By January 196-4 there had been 538 re- 

 turns. 



3. The pattern of recoveries from the Hawai- 

 ian Islands suggests that the current system near 

 the Islands varies seasonally in strength, with 

 velocities during May to September of about 6 to 

 11 nautical miles per day, and 6 nautical miles 

 per day or less during October to April, as com- 

 puted from minimum speeds of drift of both 

 bottles and cards. 



4. The pattern of recoveries also suggests a 

 seasonal change in the direction of drift In the 

 immediate vicinity of Oahu; from January to May 

 the drift was predominantly to the northwest, 

 roughly parallel to the Island chain, while dur- 

 ing June to December the drift was primarily to 

 the west or somewhat south of west. 



5. In general, the pattern of surface drift, 

 and its speed, coincide with the seasonal changes 

 in strength of the trade wind system. 



BLUMENSTOCK, DAVID I. 



1961. Climates of the states - Hawaii. U. S. 

 Weather Bureau, Cllmatography of the 

 United States No. 60-51, 20 p. 



McGAHY. JAMES W. 



1955. Mid-Pacific oceanography. Part VI - 

 Hawaiian offshore waters, December 

 1949 - November 1951. U. S. Fish and 

 Wildlife Service, Special Scientific Re- 

 port--Fisheries No. 152, 138 p. 



SCHWARTZLOSE, RICHARD A. 



1963. Nearshore currents of the western 

 United States and Baja California as 

 measured by drift bottles. California 

 Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investi- 

 gations, Reports, 1 July 1960 to 30 June 

 1962, Marine Research Committee vol. 9, 

 p. 15-22. 



SECKEL, GUNTER R. 



1955. Mid-Pacific oceanography. Part VII - 

 Hawaiian offshore waters, September 

 1952- August 1953. U.S. Fish and Wild- 

 life Service, Special Scientific Report-- 

 Fisheries No. 164, 250 p. 



U. S. NAVY HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICE. 



1947. Atlas of surface currents of the north- 

 eastern Pacific Ocean. H. O. Publication 

 No. 570, 12 p. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



The captain and the crew of the U. S. Coast 

 and Geodetic Survey ship Surveyor assisted in 

 releasing drift cards. Many others cooperated 

 in reporting recovered bottles and cards. 



1950. Atlas of surf ace currents of the north- 

 western Pacific Ocean. H. O. Publication 

 No. 569, 12 p. 



