maximum velocities between high and low tide and rarely exceed 0.5 

 knot. On the open shelf, tidal currents are rotary in a clockwise 

 manner and make a complete cycle in about 12.4 hours. Boundary conditions 

 near the shore and at the bottom, however, confine the tidal current 

 largely to directions parallel to shore or bottom contours. 



2. Parachute Current Drogues . The tracks of the parachute current 

 drogues released in January are shown in Figure 10. Twelve of the 

 drogues had the parachute at 50 feet, four at 300 feet, and three 

 at 1,000 feet. 



FIGURE 10. PARACHUTE CURRENT DROGUE MOVEMENT, JANUARY 



The 50-foot drogues released in a line radiating southwest from 

 Point Arguello indicated southwestward flow nearshore and a northerly 

 flow near 121°W longitude. The 300-foot drogues followed a similar, 

 but less pronounced, movement. The 1,000-foot drogue apparently lost 

 its parachute and became influenced by prevailing winds. 



The drogues along the northern entrance to Santa Barbara Channel 

 revealed mixed flow directions. Those near the coast moved generally 

 eastward, but they exhibited a period of westward flow, probably the 



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