Institution

whi ch recorded currents for about four months, incorporated
five current meters in three moorings. The moorings on the
southern edge of the Nares Abyssal Plain and north flank of
the Greater Antilles Outer Ridge (A and B respectively,
Fi g. 6.1) i ncl uded two current meters, at 15 and 200 m off
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the bottom, to determi ne vari abi 1 i ty of currents wi th depth.
The third mooring (C) contained only a single current meter.
Since the records from the deep and shallow instruments
were nearly identical in the first setting of current meters,
the second setting was made with one current meter per
mooring, at 100 m above the bottom. The meters were set for
about si x months near a common depth of 5300 ms wi th one at
the northwest ti p of the outer ri dge and one each on the
north and south flanks (D,E,F, Fig. 6.1), in an attempt to
moni tor the cl ockwi se flow around the end of the outer ri dge
i ndi cated by the hydrography and the bottom photographs.
Hydrographi c Stati ons
Hydrographic data from depths greater than 3500 meters
were collected at 57 stations during five cruises made .since
early 1971 (Fig. 6.1). Four deep stations were made in
January, 1971, from MSS MT. MITCHELL, and in February a
section of deep stations was made from R/V KNORR along the
current meter line from 23° to 210N lat. In August, 1971,
we made 23 stations combining bottom photography and water
sampling from R/V ATLANTIS II over the northwestern section.
of the outer ridge. KNORR made additional stations with
)