In SAROPS, which inputs model wind-driven drift?

• A. Wave height and sea temperature
• B. Tidal height and salinity
• C. Leeway winds and surface currents
• D. Wind gusts and current shear

Answer: (C)

Wind-driven drift is captured in SAROPS by how the wind pushes the object and how the surface water moves it along. The two inputs that model this effect are leeway winds, which describe the wind’s force and direction on the object causing it to drift relative to the surrounding water, and surface currents, which carry the object along at the water’s surface. Together, they define how wind and water together transport the object on the surface.

Other factors like wave height and sea temperature don’t directly model the wind-induced movement. Tidal height and salinity influence currents in a broader sense but aren’t the specific wind-driven components used here. Wind gusts are short-term fluctuations and current shear refers to changes in current with depth, neither of which are the primary inputs for wind-driven drift in this modeling context.