The Guiana Current. Ocean Surface Currents

Links, summary text detailing velocity and hydrographic observations, and plots such as, average current speed and locations, drifting buoy positions, sea surface temperature maps, and HYCOM simulations.

The Guiana Current surface water enters the Caribbean primarily between the Windward Islands and between Grenada and the South American continent (Gade 1961).

Model (1950) inferred from observations made by Pillsbury (1889, 1890) that 70% of the total water volume transported into the Caribbean Sea comes from the Guiana Current (Febres-Ortega and Herrera 1976). The section joining the NBC and the Guiana Current along the coast is marked by a relatively constant flow of 10 Sv (Johns et al. 1990).

When the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) shifts north, the winds along the Guiana Coast weaken and shift from northeasterly to southeasterly (Met. Office 1948, as cited in Borstad 1982).

The change in flow and a reduction of Amazon River discharge after June are correlated with the weakening of the Guiana Current (Fuglister 1951) and a sharp reduction of brackish water supplied to the western tropical Atlantic and Caribbean (Borstad 1982).

Auteur(s) : J. Gyory, A. J. Mariano, E. H. Ryan
Édition : University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS)
Année : 2005
Nbre de pages : 3
Type : Article scientifique
Langue(s) : Anglais
Format(s) : HTML
Source : Ocean Surface Currents

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