Wind‐derived water motion off the east coast of New Zealand

Abstract

Abstract Wind data are used to determine the wind‐driven sea surface drifts and the wind‐derived transports on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand, between Kaikoura and Cape Campbell, for the period September 1967 to July 1968. The surface speeds were of the order of centimetres per second. At Kaikoura, the wind‐derived surface drift was toward the north‐west during all seasons. At Cape Campbell and a northern offshore station (4P 51' S, 174° 24' E), the surface drift was toward the north‐west in winter and towards the south‐east in summer. The main wind‐derived water transport at Kaikoura was onshore during all seasons. At the northern offshore station, the main transport was onshore in winter and offshore in summer. The winds on the north Canterbury Coast do not provide the mechanism by which Subtropical Water is directed towards Kaikoura.