World Surface Currents from Ship's Drift Observations

Over 4 million observations of ship’s drift are on file at the U.S. National Oceanographic Data Centre, in Washington, D.C., representing a vast amount of information on ocean surface currents. The observed drift speeds are dependent on the frequency of occurrence of the particular current speeds and the frequency of observation. By comparing frequency of observation with the drift speeds observed it is possible to confirm known current patterns and detect singularities in surface currents