Variations in the equatorial countercurrent in the central Pacific

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.