42N 



+ 



117 



+ 



55W 



+ 

 47W 



+ 

 39W 



Figure C-5. Trajectory of Buoy 4555. 



BUOY 4555 



Buoy 4555 (Figure C-5, C-6) was 

 air-deployed at 48-20N, 48-26 W 

 on 25 March (84). It remained in 

 the Ice Patrol operations area for 

 91 days, passing east of 39°W on 

 23 June (1 74). The drogue 

 remained attached to the buoy for 

 the entire 91 -day drift period, de- 

 taching on 29 June (180). Shortly 

 thereafter (3 July, 184), 4555 was 

 recovered by an unknown vessel 

 at 46-28°N, 37-06°W and taken in 

 the direction of Europe. 



76 



After deployment, 4555 moved 

 southeastward and then south- 

 ward through Flemish Pass, 

 approximately following the 200 m 

 isobath. During this 25-day 

 period, from 25 March to 19 April 

 (84-109), the temperature in- 

 creased slowly from -1 .4 to 1 .4°C 

 and the speed varied widely 

 (10-50 cm/s). 



At approximately 44''N, the 

 trajectory of 4555 changed 

 abruptly under the influence of a 

 warm-core eddy centered at 



43-30N, 48-10W. The buoy 

 slowed, reversed direction, and 

 then moved eastward and 

 southward, tracing an anticyclonic 

 path approximately one-half the 

 way around the boundary of the 

 eddy. This occurred over a 6-day 

 period, during which the buoy 

 moved at speeds of 50-70 cm/s. 

 During the period that 4555 was 

 moving around the outside of the 

 eddy, the temperature record 

 shows a considerable variability 

 over the range from 0.8 to 13°C, 

 suggesting that the buoy was 



