Abstract
Direct measurements of the nearshore surface currents along the coast of central California were made in October 1958 and January 1959. Parachute drogues were used to determine trajectory and speed. Hydrographic casts were made concurrently over the surrounding area to compare the drogue results with the geostrophic flow calculated from density measurements. Very good agreement was found in direction, but the geostrophic speed calculated from a weak gradient over a short distance cannot give accurate results. In October the coastal waters were just beginning to flow northward, and velocities measured by both drogues and the geostrophic approximation indicated some irregularity. In January the northward-flowing Davidson current was well established. It was about 50 nautical miles wide at 36°N, and speeds of 0.2 and 0.5 knot were observed. The flow maintained the quasi-periodic fluctuations of approximate diurnal and semidiurnal period that had been observed before.
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