Institution

InN 0 ve m b e r, 1 9 7 1, a s e con d s e r i e s 0 f t h r e e cur r e n t
meters was set on the western sector of the Greater Anti 11 es
167
Outer Ridge near a common depth of 5300 m: one at the north-
west end and one each on the north and south flanks (Fig. 6.1,
Tab~e 6.1). A fourth current meter which was planned on the
Caicos Outer Ridge was not set because the acoustic release
functioned improperly in pre-mooring tests. A six-month
record was obtained from the instruments on the flanks but the
one at the northwest end of the Greater Anti 11 es Outer Ri dge
malfunctioned and no useful data were obtained.
Current meter E, moored at 5290 m on the north flank of
the Greater Anti 11 es Outer Ri dge, showed nearlyuni di recti onal
flow to the ESE parallel to the bathymetric contours over the
entire recording period (166 days) (Fig. 6.12). Speeds,
averaged over one-hour intervals, ranged from 2 to 17 cm/sec
(Fig. 6.9); the maximum three-day avera~e s~eed was 13 cm/sec.
Speeds greater than 10 cm/sec were uni formly to the east and
southeast.
Current meter D, at 5352 m on the south fl ank, showed a
nearly uni di recti onal current to the northwest for 169 days,
also parallel to the bathymetric contours (Fig. 6.12).
Current speeds were similar to those observed on the north
fl ank, al though the hi gher speeds were generallj di rectedto
the north and northwest (Fig. 6.9). The maximum three-day-
average speed was 15 cm/sec.
Two small-scale variations occur in each of the six-month
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