TM No. 306 



The areas covered, the equipment used, and the methods employed to 

 obtain the water current measurements are described in this preliminary 

 report. In addition, the raw data are presented in Appendix A. A 

 subsequent report on this program will include an analysis of the data 

 in an effort to answer the previously posed questions. 



AREAS 



For the purpose of this program, five areas were selected, and 

 water current measurements were taken along transects in these areas 

 (See Figure 3) • 



The first transect was positioned between Northern Eleuthera 

 (Egg Island) and Great Abaco Island (Hole-in-the-Wall) . This transect 

 was selected in order to define water motion at the entrance to Northeast 

 Providence Channel. 



The second transect was positioned along a line bearing 3^3°T from 

 Old Fort Point (New Providence Island), and terminating east of the Berry 

 Islands at the 100 fathom curve. 



The third transect was positioned in the eastern part of TOTO (east 

 of the longitudinal axis and extending eastward toward the bank along 

 latitude 24° 40' N) . 



The fourth transect was positioned parallel to the bank about 

 three miles east of Middle Bight, Andros Island. Only three drogues 

 (set at a depth of 10 meters) were tracked, but observations were taken 

 at much shorter time intervals than along the other transects. This 

 experiment was conducted in an attempt to examine small scale turbulent 

 fluctuations in the surface flow. It should be noted that the drogues 

 set along the fourth transect were tracked simultaneously with the 

 drogues set along the third transect. 



The fifth transect was positioned in the western part of TOTO 

 (west of the longitudinal axis and extending westward toward the bank 

 along latitude 2k° 15' N) . The drogues set along this transect (after 

 tracking was completed along the fourth transect) were also tracked 

 simultaneously with the drogues set along the third transect. 



A total of 27 drogues were set and tracked along these transects, 

 and 19 of the surface floats were recovered. The drogues were placed 

 at predetermined depths to provide information on the character and 

 velocity of the water currents throughout the water column. The number 

 of drogues tacked along each transect, the depth at which each drogue 

 was set, and the total tracking time per drogue is tabulated in Table 1. 



