(Plate 20) , has a near circular distribution, though with some tendency 

 towards the southwest. Those sites constrained in channels, such as Sites 1, 

 2, and 3, show a strong alignment that corresponds to the channel orientation 

 (Plates 17-19). Before the rose plots were calculated for Site 2, all three 

 data sets were truncated on 30 August, prior to the loss of the buoy. 



89. Other characteristics of the flow pattern in the Cerritos Channel 

 are apparent from these plots. At Site 3, the surface current is strongly 

 skewed southeast, parallel to the adjacent mole. The strong afternoon sea 

 breezes typical during that time of year might be expected to drive surface 

 water eastward, and the mole would deflect it in the direction observed. At 

 the middepth, the flow along the mole is nearly exactly balanced, while a 

 defintite net flow towards the channel is evident at Site 3B. 



90. At Site 1 at the back of the channel, the net flow is reduced on 

 the bottom, but the continuation of the net transport is still apparent. At 

 the surface, the directions are very nearly balanced. At the opposite end of 

 the channel- -Site 2- -the counterclockwise flow has left the bottom, but is 

 even more evident at the middepth and surface. A resultant transport pattern 

 that starts near the bottom on the eastern entrance and exits near the surface 

 at the opposite end of the channel is revealed. However, the flux is obvious- 

 ly not constant at the three measurement sites, most likely because of cross - 

 channel variations in the velocity. A counterclockwise flow would result from 

 wind setup against the mole at the eastern entrance and set down at the 

 western entrance. Structures effectively block the wind in the Cerritos 

 Channel itself. Other effects of the predominant sea breeze (from the west) 

 are discussed in the next section. 



91. In addition, the two ends of the Cerritos Channel allow the flow to 

 flood or ebb from both ends more or less simultaneously, requiring a node to 

 exist at some point along the channel. This will also be addressed in more 

 detail in the next section. 



92. Because Sites 6 and 7 are exposed to the sea breeze and are in the 

 proximity of the east-west aligned breakwater, a net easterly flow would be 

 expected at the surface, if the wind is a factor. This net easterly flow oc- 

 curs at Sites 6S and 7S (Plates 21 and 22). At Site 7B, the tendency is just 

 as strong westward, directly toward Site 6 and into the harbor. This tendency 

 could represent a return flow necessary to balance an eastward flow on the 

 surface, particularly since the only other entrances are the much smaller 



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