Frictional influence of the bottom is considered a major cause of the 

 apparent shrinkage of the vector diagrams v;ith increasing depth. The 

 distinct loops occurring at depth below 28 meters at Station A are 

 believed to be associated with large eddies on the lee side of the sea- 

 mount. These current rotations were clockwise and were not found at 

 Stations B and C. Since such rotations were only observed at Station 

 A at depths below the sharp density transition, it is felt that their 

 occurrence is not purely a manifestation of tidal forces, but that they 

 are associated with a large eddy regime existing on the lee side of the 

 Bank. Present data are insufficient for deducing the periodicity of the 

 rotation, though at depths of Uo and kS meters one rotation appears to 

 have been completed in approximately 13 hours. 



Considerable caution has been exercised in interpreting these rota- 

 tions, since observations were obtained at only one station at any given 

 time. Wider sjrnoptic coverage will be required for determination of the 

 absolute nature of the postulated eddy regime. Such rotations may be 

 associated with vortices moving off the lee side of the Bank. Neverthe- 

 less, the possibility that such rotary characteristics were partially a 

 consequence of tidal forces cannot be entirely eliminated. 



Current speeds obtained by the experimental buoyed current meter 

 should be viewed with a degree of reservation because of improper zero 

 adjustment of the speed indicator. In view of the apparent accuracy of 

 the directions obtained, as indicated by the agreement between these 

 observations and those of the Roberts meter, it is felt that there is a 

 sufficient degree of accuracy to warrant the consideration of these data. 



The progressive vector diagrams of the current buoy data and the 

 observations conducted simiiltaneously at the corresponding depth of l6 

 meters at Stations A, B, and C show close agreement. In like manner the 

 22-meter data of the anchor station plots are distinctly similar, though 

 they have not been presented for comparison with the buoyed current me- 

 ter data. 



Recent current studies were conducted by the Woods Hole Oceanographic 

 Institution (Bruce, I961) with parachute drogues on Plantagenet Bank and 

 in the deeper water adjacent to and southwest of the Bank from 5 to I8 

 October 1959. Of particular significance is the agreement between these 

 observations and those presented in this report, though the two surveys 

 are separated by a 22-month interval. These drogue studies also indicated 

 the general direction of currents to be south- southeasterly with speeds 

 of one knot or less. Indications of turbulence south of the Bank and 

 seemingly non-tidal characteristics of the observed currents were also 

 apparent throiigh the Woods Hole investigation. 



