Observations on chatham rise currents

Abstract

Observations from a string of 3 current meters over a 34 day period on the Chatham Rise, New Zealand reveal: (1) the strongest flow is that associated with the M2barotropic tide and is consistent with a trapped wave rotating anticlockwise around New Zealand; (2) a lesser M2baroclinic signal which accounts for about a quarter of the M2tidal variance; (3) an unusually strong diurnal tide signal which is probably associated with a continental shelf wave; and (4) a mean flow with an eastward component but with meridional components, which are consistent with a model of the Subtropical Convergence, with northward flow near the surface and southward flow near the bottom. © 1983 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.