No direct current measurements were made by NORTHWIND 

 in 1963, and few Russian data are available for the survey area. 

 The existence of a northerly surface current in the eastern Laptev 

 Sea is mentioned briefly, however, by Antonov (1958). Circulation 

 in the Arctic Basin is indicated by Coachman and Barnes (1961) to 

 be north or northeasterly in the region around the New Siberian Islands. 

 Their observations are based primarily upon recorded drift of ice 

 floe stations and vessels as listed in U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office 

 Publication No. 705. Unfortunately, very few additional data seem 

 to be available. Those data available suggest that Arctic Basin 

 circulation and circulation in the Laptev Sea probably influence 

 distribution of low density effluent water, but their importance 

 is difficult to assess without additional data. 



Wind observations made aboard NORTHWIND are shown vectorially 

 in figure 11. These data were collected during oceanographic station 



-rn" 



OBSERVED 

 WIND VELOCITY Aug-Scpt 1963 



T , ,' , , T^ r , , r , , , ■ y^'. . ■ . r , ^^ 



Figure 11. 

 occupation 



Obser 

 Each' 



ed surface v 

 ;ctor repreH 



^locities as noted by NORTHWIND during oceanographic stati< 

 single observation, and o scale is included in the figure. 



occupation as near the time of messenger release as possible. Observed 



wind directions ranged from northeasterly in the southwestern Laptev 



Sea to easterly and southeasterly in the region of the Lena River 



plume. Although the wind observations are not synoptic, good correlation 



appears to exist between these wind directions and the apparent distribution 



of low density effluent water at the time of the survey. 



17 



