Agulhas current trajectory from new argos drifter compared with simultaneous shipboard measurements

One of the New Torpedo-Shaped Low Cost Argos Drifting Buoys equipped with a window-shade drogue at 15m was deployed in the Agulhas Current some 300 miles south of the Cape of Good Hope during a W.H.O.I. cruise to study this current system during March, 1985. This paper compares the current regime as determined by shipboard measurements taken at the time of deployment and while the ship followed the current axis with the drifter trajectory during the initial period of its operation. A comparison of these two sets of data indicates the drifter provides a valid lagrangian current measurement of this portion of the Agulhas Current.