2023 Volume 79 Issue 18 Article ID: 23-18055
Drifting objects flown out from the Pacific Ocean side of the Tohoku region by the Kuroshio Extension tend to be either blocked by the Emperor Seamount Chain or move eastward by eastward winds. If the winds around the Emperor Seamount Chain tend to be southward, the drifting objects will move southward, away from the Emperor Seamount Chain, and move toward Japan by westward winds. If northward winds continue while the drifting objects moves toward Japan, the drifting objects will move northward and return to the Kuroshio Extension region. It has been revealed by observations for the first time that drifting objects can make large-scale circumnavigation during more than one year on the western side of the Emperor Seamount Chain, even without crossing the Emperor Seamount Chain, by ocean currents, winds and the Emperor Seamount Chain.
