Plate 10. Conceptual diagram showing the modulation of sea surface temperature by variations of wind speed in the lee of the islands (graphics by Brooks Bays).

The yellow arrows represent intensified winds in the channels, yielding cooler surface temperatures (light blue); in the calm lee, warmer surface temperatures are observed (pink). These variations of wind speed induce divergent and convergent surface currents (horizontal blue arrows), which in turn lift or depress the thermocline (vertical blue arrows), eventually leading to the formation of clockwise (anticyclonic) and counter-clockwise (cyclonic) eddies (gray curved arrows).