DETECTING OCEAN CURRENTS BY OBSERVING THEIR 

 HYDROGEN-ION CONCENTRATION. 



By ALFRED GOLDSBOROUGH MAYOR. 

 {Read April 24, 19 19.) 



Observations. 



The surface water of the middle regions of the Tropical Pacific 

 commonly flows in a westerly direction due to the effect of the trade 

 winds, and this water is strongly alkaline, its hydrogen-ion concen- 

 tration being about 8.22 PH, or 0.602 X lO"*. Occasionally, how- 

 ever, in the Tropical Pacific one finds a region wherein the surface 

 water is temporarily flowing toward the east and thus counter to 

 the trend of the usual current and of the trade winds. I find that 

 this easterly moving water is commonly less alkaline than is that 

 of the general region in which it occurs. Thus while the water 

 moving toward the west is about 8.22 PH these easterly counter 

 currents are 8.1 to 8.18 PH, or 0.83 X lO"- to 0.66 X 10"^ 



The tension of the carbon dioxide of the great westerly current 

 appears to about the same as that of the air above the sea ranging 

 in our tests from 2.75 to 3.25 ten thousandths of an atmosphere, 

 whereas the water which is moving in an easterly direction is more 

 strongly changed with free COo, its tension ranging from 3.45 to 

 above four ten thousandths of an atmosphere. Moreover, this east- 

 erly moving water is slightly colder than that of the general region 

 in which it occurs and Professor L. R. Cary found its oxygen con- 

 tent was higher than normal. Thus it seems that these counter 

 currents are caused by deep water which has temporarily appeared 

 upon the surface either by welling upward or through a local dis- 

 placement of the westerly-moving surface layer. 



This suggests that eddies may be set up due to the gusty nature 

 of the trade winds, as shown in Fig. i. Every " puff" pushes some 

 water ahead of it and leaves a hollow in its wake which must be 

 filled up to the general level by deeper water rising to the surface, 



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