Note on the countercurrent in the Yucatan Channel and the western Cayman Sea

Abstract

In august 1971, current observations by means of geomagnetic electrokinetograph were made in the Yucatan Channel and the western Cayman Sea aboard the research vessel "Cadete Virgilio Uribe" of the Mexican Navy. These measurements indicated a south-flowing current of considerable strength in the eastern half of the channel, extending towards the Grand Cayman Island. The existence of this current was also shown by the dynamic topography based on simultaneous hydrographic observations in the area. Estimates based on vorticity can, at least in part, account for the observed countercurrent.