Caribbean Current 
The Caribbean Current, seldom mentioned and given little consideration 
in the literature, is clearly shown by available data to be among the most 
persistent and well-defined major currents. Figure 14 shows the boundaries 
of this current, which sets west throughout the year between 65 and 75 
percent of the time; mean speed is 0.9 knot, and maximum speed at times 
is about 3.5 knots. The band within which highest speeds occur during any 
month also is shown in Figure 14; this band, where speeds average 1.1 
knots 75 to 80 percent of the time, originates from the fast coastal 
Guiana Current and is located in the southern part of the Caribbean Current. 
Current speed over Rosalind Bank (16.5°N, 80.5°W) is strong, averaging 
1.2 knots; however, this region is not included in the main band of highest 
speed, and the swift flow over the bank appears to be a funneling of the 
slower prevailing flow from the east. 
Table 8 shows the frequency by speed category during winter (January, 
February, and March) and summer (July, August, and September) in the four 
regions shown in Figure 1+. ‘The flow in the prevailing direction is very 
consistent, being located in a steady trade-wind region, and there is 
little variation between seasons. Because of the limiting topography of 
the region, the Caribbean Current, unlike currents in the open ocean, has 
the basic characteristic of a one-way flow through a channel. Frequency 
in other than prevailing directions ranges only between 2 and 6 percent. 
Little is known about subsurface currents. Profiles in Figure lh 
for two locations seem to agree with the known features of the current. 
37 
