Comparison of the seven large meanders of the Kuroshio

In this paper, a comparison among the seven large meanders of the Kuroshio is made in order to probe into their similarity and differences. The major results are described as follows.
1. Although the three phases for the seven large meanders such as their formations, maturity, as well as decline are very similar to one another, each meander has its own trivial difference in detail.
2.The paths of the first six large meanders in the mature phase may be classified into ten types:U₁, V₁, U₂, V₂, U₁', V₁', U₂', V₂',φ and W.
3.The seven large meanders may be grouped into two patterns, i. e., pattern Ⅰ and pattern Ⅱ. Pattern Ⅰ includes the first and the fourth large meanders, and pattern Ⅱ includes the rest of the above meanders.
4. Four standards for identifying the large meanders of the Kuroshio are put forward.