Your vessel is off Barnegat, NJ with the wind coming out of the east. What will be the approximate direction of the wind-driven current?
• Wind-driven surface current generally flows in a predictable relation to the true wind direction • On the U.S. East Coast, think about how onshore vs. offshore winds affect coastal surface currents • Remember that direction in degrees is the direction toward which the current flows
• If the wind is blowing from the east, in what general compass direction will it tend to push the surface water? • Look at the answer choices and decide which one represents water flowing roughly downwind of an easterly wind, adjusted slightly for coastal effects and Coriolis • Compare "from" and "to" directions: if the wind is FROM 090°, what general "TO" direction should the current have?
• Be clear on the difference between wind direction (where it blows FROM) and current set (where it flows TO) • Check that your chosen answer is generally downwind of an easterly wind, not upwind • Verify that your chosen direction is plausible for coastal New Jersey, where the shoreline runs roughly northeast–southwest
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