Analysis of the Large-Scale Dynamics of Surface Waters in the Southern Ocean with the Help of Lagrangian Drifters

We summarize the results of reconstruction of the monthly average surface circulation in the Southern Ocean according to the paths of autonomous drifting buoys launched in the course of the First Global Geophysical Experiment (FGGE) according to the Program of Investigation of Global Atmospheric Processes in 1978–1980. The data of numerical analysis reveal significant annual and seasonal variability in the behavior of the integral characteristics of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the west extension of the Agulhas Current, the zone of convergence of the Falkland and Brasil Currents, and the cyclonic gyres in the Weddell and Ross Seas. It is established that the dynamics of the large-scale surface circulation in the Southern Ocean can be described by two or three empirical orthogonal modes. In general, we observe a strong correlation between the locations of the zones with high kinetic energy of currents and the zones of bottom rise.