224 



bulletin: museum of comparative zoology. 



Color of the sea. 



The observations on color, tabulated below, are interesting chiefly 

 because there is very little precise information as to the color of the 

 water over the continental shelf south of Cape Cod. 



Color, in % of yellow, according to the Forel scale {Steuer, 1910). 



The water was very green (27% yellow) along Cape Cod both in 

 July and in August, and this was also the case on the western side of 

 George's Bank (20%). But it was distinctly bluer (9% yellow) over 

 the southern end of the basin of the Gulf and after crossing Nantucket 

 Shoals the water grew visibly blue to the eye, being almost pure blue 

 (2% yellow) at the 80 fathom curve south of Nantucket (Station 

 10061). 



In general the water was greenest near land, bluest off shore, as 

 might be expected, the water being greenest of all near New York 

 (Stations 10067, 10068). The color wj^is 20-27%, yellow, along the 

 coast of New Jersey; that of the coast water south of Delaware Bay 

 14-20% yellow. The water was nearly pure blue (2% yellow) at all 

 the stations outside the edge of the continental shelf. 



The water of the Gulf of Maine was considerably greener, most so 

 along Cape Cod (27% yellow), over German Bank (27% yellow), and 

 along the coast of Maine between Mt. Desert and Penobscot Bay 

 (27-35% yellow). The water was considerably bluer (9%) over the 



