Figure 8. — Teleconnections (cross-correlation) of 700-inb pressure height departure from mean for Northern Hemisphere 

 winter. (Source: J. Namias.) 



portant part of the program is regular monitoring, by aircraft 

 and merchant ships, of the thermal structure of the ocean's 

 upper layer in the region 30° to 50°N, 140° to 180°W. Addi- 

 tionally, three research vessels made cruises to this region, 

 closely spaced STD and XBT measurements were taken, and 

 16 drogued surface drifters were launched on each cruise. The 

 first two cruises were on Kana Keoki in June 1976 and on 

 Wecoma in September 1976. The third cruise was made on 

 the RV Thompson in May 1977. 



Preliminary results from the first two cruises are illus- 

 trated in figures 11 and 12. Figure 11 shows the temperature 

 distribution that was observed at 400 m depth. The subarctic 

 front shows a nearly east-west orientation, especially at more 

 northern latitudes (40° to 50°N). The temperature difference 

 at 400 m between the two cruises shows "striations" running 

 WSW-ENE that are parallel to the general atmospheric cir- 



culation. Figure 12 shows the tracks for the surface drifters in 

 September 1976. The drifters in the northern portion of the 

 region show very little north-south displacement while those 

 in the southern portion have substantial north-south displace- 

 ments and even easterly (as opposed to the dominant westerly) 

 displacements. Additional efforts are underway to merge these 

 data sets and to seek explanations for the observed temporal 

 differences in terms of Ekman pumping by storms. 



Equatorial Program 



The overall objectives of the NORPAX Equatorial Pro- 

 gram are to observe and explain large scale, long period 

 fluctuations in the equatorial Pacific current system. This Pro- 

 gram derives its inspiration from two sources. First, oceanog- 

 raphers wish to understand the mechanisms by which the 

 equatorial current system produces anomalous temperature 



24 



