AOU as indicator of water-flow direction in the central North Pacific

Salinity, preformed phosphate and AOU distribution on the sigma-t surfaces of 26.8 and 27.3 of the central North Pacific Ocean, as well as the topography of these density surfaces, were studied. The direction of water flow suggested by the AOU distribution on these density surfaces was compared to that indicated by the acceleration potential contours on the_t=125 cl/ton and_t=80cl/ton surfaces drawn by Joseph L.Reid, Jr. The disagreements were explained in terms of mixing and possible gradients of primary production at the sea surface. On the 26.8 sigma-t surface a southward flow connecting the westward flow south of the Aleutian chain and the eastward flow farther south, between 175E and 180 is suggested by the AOU distribution but is not implied by the acceleration potential contours. If the circulation pattern at this density surface is similar to that at the sea surface, this southward flow is very likely to be real.