The Wairarapa Coastal Current

A new name is proposed for the relatively cool, fresh, northwards-directed flow along the Wairarapa coast of New Zealand. Data from two research cruises plus historical hydrocast data are used to show that the water within this current is modified subtropical water with sources likely to be the Southland and D'Urville currents. This current has previously been known as the Canterbury Current or as an extension of the Southland Current, but because of its source and location, a better name is the Wairarapa Coastal Current. One-month-long current meter records made off the Wairarapa coast show flow continuously to the north during February 1998. Volume transports within the Wairarapa Coastal Current in February 1998 were c. 1.6 Sv off Cape Palliser, diminishing northwards as the current becomes entrained into the East Cape Current.