256 



in terras of percentage frequency, cannot be stated because 

 there is too little basic information on the relationship 

 between winds and currents in general, and in the relatively 

 shallow water of Santa Monica Bay in particular, by which a 

 definite figure can be established. 

 Deeper Currents 



The circulation in the deeper layers of the bay poses 

 somewhat more of a problem. Current meter and drogue experi- 

 ments seem to show that whenever an appreciable current is 

 present the deeper water flows in the same general direction 

 but with a substantially lower velocity. There is some 

 indication from current meter data that deep ciirrents may 

 sometimes flow in a direction different than that of the 

 surface layers, but this is by no means certain. When such 

 differential flow was indicated the deeper currents usually 

 were slow, less than 0.2 MPH, and so lay within the range 

 where the current meters were inaccurate both with respect to 

 direction £ind velocity. On purely argumentative and theore- 

 tical grounds, it is not impossible that currents near the 

 bottom in the deeper parts of the bay may depart somewhat 

 from the direction of flow at the surface, and it is not at 

 all unlikely that they may do so in regions of complicated 

 topography such as the heads of the submarine canyons off 

 Redondo and Santa Monica. But over the bay as a whole there 

 is no basis in fact for supposing that deeper currents may 

 move out of the bay when the surface currents are directed 

 toward shore. 



