p 



DISCOVERY INVESTIGATIONS 



STATION LIST 



R.R.S. 'WILLIAM SCORESBY' 



1931-1938 



(Plates XXXIV-XXXVII) 



INTRODUCTION 



ARTicuLARS of the earlier observations made by the R.R.S. 'William Scoresby' up to St. WS 575 

 (26 March 193 1) were included in the Station Lists already published in vols, i, iii and iv of the 

 Discovery Reports. Subsequent lists contained only particulars of observations made by the R.R.S. 

 'Discovery 11' between October 1931 and May 1939 {Discovery Reports, vols, xxi, xxii and xxiv). The 

 present list gives particulars of the observations made by the 'William Scoresby' between April 1931 

 and February 1938. 



In the early part of this period (from April to September 1931) the 'William Scoresby' carried out 

 an oceanographical survey of the Peru Coastal Current, during which many stations (WS 576-748) 

 were (with a few exceptions) worked off the coasts of Chile and Peru. This work on the Peru Current 

 was followed by a trawling survey of the Patagonian Continental Shelf (Sts. WS 749-882, from 

 September 1931 to April 1932) — the third trawling survey carried out by the 'William Scoresby' in 

 these waters. Particulars of the earlier surveys have already been given in the Station Lists published 

 in vols. I and in. 



From 1934 to 1938 the 'William Scoresby' was engaged in marking whales in the Antarctic. Four 

 commissions, each of approximately seven months, enabled the ship to spend about four months on the 

 pelagic whaling grounds each season. Opportunities for oceanographical work were few, but a certain 

 number of hydrological observations, to a depth of 400 m., were made during the first three com- 

 missions. A limited number of biological observations, mainly with towed nets, were also made 

 throughout all the whale-marking commissions. These biological and hydrological observations were 

 recorded under station numbers in the usual way. 



In the ' William Scoresby ' lack of adequate facilities normally prevents chemical analysis of water 

 samples on board. It would be impossible at any time to carry out the full series of analyses which are 

 part of the normal routine in the ' Discovery II ', but, for the period of the Peru Coastal Current Survey, 

 temporary arrangements were made so that estimations of phosphate and dissolved oxygen could be 

 carried out on board. These arrangements were not, however, wholly satisfactory and the results ob- 

 tained should be used with caution. It is probable, though, that in most cases the errors are slight. On 

 the other hand, samples taken for the determination of salinity can be kept almost indefinitely and 

 those taken during the Peru Survey were therefore stored on board and titrated in a shore laboratory 

 at a later date. The accuracy of the figures for salinity conforms, therefore, to our normal standard. 



The abbreviations which denote the nature of the bottom are those now used by the Hydrographic 

 Department of the Admiralty.^ Of these the following appear in this station list: 



fine 

 gravel 

 green 

 grey 

 hard 

 light 



— placed above the figure for the sounding indicates that bottom was not reached. 



An asterisk following the figure for the sounding indicates that the depth was obtained by echo sounding. 

 1 See Chart No. 501 1, Explanation of signs and abbreviations as shown on the charts issued by the Hydrographic Department, 

 Admiralty. Hydrographic Department, Admiralty, 1946. 



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