Surface drifters experiment in the south-eastern part of the Baltic Sea

In November 2013, the first short-term surface drifter experiment has been carried out along the Lithuanian coast. Three drifters were deployed from R/V Vejunas at a location similar to 6 km offshore and 2.5 km north of Klaipeda. During the period of observation from 22-30 November, the drifting direction has shifted up to five times by more than 90 degrees mainly due to changes in the mean wind direction. After seven days, the drifters have reached the coast approximately 30 km south of Klaipeda. The analysis of the relationships between the mean wind speed and the mean drift speed for the three periods differentiated based on meteorological conditions yielded a regression coefficient of 0.031, with the entire experiment period characterized by a lower value of 0.014.