During the Equalant III program in the spring of 1964, the Equatorial Undercurrent in the eastern part of the Atlantic Ocean was followed into the inner part of the Gulf of Guinea. The high‐salinity core associated with this current maintained salinities of more than 36.2‰ as far east as the Island of São Tomé. Near 6½°E the subsurface salinity maximum turned to a southeasterly direction, its maximum salinity gradually decreasing in the core. Salinities in excess of 36.2‰ could be observed as close as 150 km off the coast of Africa near 1°20′S. Current‐drogue measurements in and around the high‐salinity core indicate that in April 1964 the undercurrent terminated very close to the Island of São Tomé.
An improved sampling and analytical technique for ultra‐low specific activities of tritium, as HTO, in sea water, is described. Tritium data, together with salinity and temperature from the Equalant III expedition in 1964 are presented and discussed. Negligible penetration of HTO below the thermocline is found in this area. Tritium‐salinity relations support the concept that molecular exchange constitutes a major portion of the air to sea flux of HTO. A time scale of a few years seems reasonable for the transfer of distant surface water to the salinity and current cores of the Equatorial Atlantic Undercurrent.
Cruise 15 of the M.V. Hugh M. Smith consisted of four consecutive lines of oceanographic stations along 140°W longitude between 8°N and 7°S latitude. Geostrophic calculations show that during a five‐week period the maximum eastward velocity component in the Countercurrent progressively increased from 63 to 120 cm/sec and the volume of flow increased from 18.3 to 22.6 X 106 m3/sec.In spite of these short‐term variations, the Equatorial Countercurrent in the central Pacific is remarkably predictable in latitude and general physical characteristics.
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