# Drift modelling · Concept

> Working back from where debris washed up to where it entered the water.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW07M22AX/drift-modelling  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Concepts](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts)Drift modelling

Concept · oceanography · in 1 mystery

# Drift modelling

Working back from where debris washed up to where it entered the water.

[Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/mh370)

Ocean currents and winds move floating things in ways that can be simulated, so debris found on a shore, with the date it was found, constrains where and when it began drifting. For MH370 the debris on African shores was run backwards this way to test the search areas; the result depends on how buoyant the pieces were and how long they floated.

## Where it comes up

**[Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/mh370)**

CSIRO drift modelling with replica flaperons favoured an origin near 35°S; the 2018 search covered that latitude without result, leaving latitudes farther north.

[CSIRO drift modelling with replica flaperons favoured an origin near 35°S; the 2018 search covered that…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/mh370/evidence/EVD0CWY766R5B1A/csiro-drift-modelling-with-replica-flaperons-favoured-an)

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Drift modelling [Concept CPT0DECW07M22AX]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/CPT0DECW07M22AX
```

Key

**CPT** 0DECW07M22AX

Record

Concept

Field

Oceanography

Related

[Bathymetry](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW07EH90Y/bathymetry)

Version

2

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

**How this page is made.** The definition is the site's, in its own words. “Where it comes up” is read from the answers, methods and evidence that name the concept.

Related concepts

[Bathymetry](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW07EH90Y/bathymetry)

The record

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