CURRENT METER OBSERVATIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS BAY 
David Halpern 
Summaries of current meter measurements 
recorded in Massachusetts Bay during the summer 
of 1967 are presented in computer-generated output 
as histograms, basic statistics, periodograms, 
progressive vector diagrams and east-north com- 
ponent plots. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
During the summer of 1967 a surface float, with 3 current meters 
suspended beneath it, was moored at 3 different locations in Massachusetts 
Bay (Figure 1). The measurement periods, the instrument depths, the 
water depths and the mooring line scopes at each site are given in Table 
Uo 
The surface float consisted of a toroid and a tripod tower with 
2 platforms. Since the total weight of the mooring cable was insufficient 
to stabilize the buoy, which had a net buoyancy of 2600 kg, nine 22-kg 
weights were attached to the bottom of the toroid. The surface float 
was moored with a single 7,93=mm galvanized aircraft cable. Each current 
meter (Geodyne Model 102 film recording current meter (Richardson et al., 
1963)) was free to swivel about the mooring line axis. 
Each instrument measured a 50-second average of speed and direc- 
tion each minute. The time series of the 50-second averaged speed values 
obtained from the instruments positioned at Station T and all the speed 
