Cromwell Current
The Cromwell Current (also called Pacific Equatorial Undercurrent or just Equatorial Undercurrent) is an eastward-flowing subsurface current that extends the length of the equator in the Pacific Ocean. The Cromwell Current was discovered in 1952 by Townsend Cromwell, a researcher with the Honolulu Laboratory of the Fish and Wildlife Service (later the United States Fish and Wildlife Service). It is wide and flows to the east. It is hidden under the surface of the Pacific Ocean at the equator and is relatively shallow compared to other ocean currents being only from top to base. It is a powerful current with top velocities of up to 1.5 m/s (2.9 knots; 3.4 mph). The current's core coincides with the thermocline and its distance from the parallel Equatorial Counter Current is approximately . It has 1,000 times the volume of the Mississippi River and its length is . Discovery In 1951 researchers on board a Fish and Fish and Wildlife Service fisheries research vessel were engaged in exploratory longline fishing when they noticed that the gear deep under water drifted eastwards. This was considered unusual because the surface currents of the Pacific Ocean flow westwards at the equator, following the direction of the