Drifting buoys in the Northeast Atlantic

A series of satellite-tracked buoys was deployed in Rockall Trough during the period May 1983—January 1984 to investigate the circulation near the surface. Currents near steep topography were strong and tended to follow depth contours, as illustrated by a northeastward flow over the eastern slope of the Faroe-Shetland Channel and by a branching into the Norwegian Trench from northward-flowing Atlantic water. In Rockall Trough, a general northeastward drift was weak and was obscured by smallscale features of the flow, particularly eddies which were found near both the Anton Dohrn seamount area and Porcupine Bank.