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The currents in the Drake Passage are studied from the ADCP and CTD data acquired in a section across the Drake Passage in October-November of 2011 and from the satellite altimeter data. A complicated pattern of currents including eight jets of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and a system of slope and abyssal currents was found. The most interesting result is the discovery of several cyclonic and anticyclonic mesoscale eddies confined to the abyss. Some reasons explaining the generation of such eddies by the meandering of the ACC jets in the upper ocean layer are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The currents in the central part of the Drake Passage are investigated by analyzing the CTD and SADCP data over the section across the Drake Passage occupied in November 2010 and satellite altimetry data. All eight of the jets of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which are currently identidifed, were resolved by the section. The velocities and water transports of these jets are estimated. Three synoptic scale eddies with different vertical structures were revealed; hypotheses on the physical nature of these eddies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]