IO SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 60 



of the Pacific ; Makaroff believes that the water of the deeper layers 

 in the Pacific comes originally from the Antarctic Ocean, an hypo- 

 thesis which finds much support in the zoogeography of the Pacific 

 region. 



The specific gravity of the water of the Philippines and of the 

 Sulu and Celebes Seas is much less than that of the adjacent parts of 

 the Pacific. 



In order to appreciate the significance of the varying salinities 

 in the North Pacific and in the enclosed seas bordering upon it some 

 attention must be given to the circulation of the water in the region 

 and to the course and interrelationships of the various currents found 

 there. 



The largest of these currents, and by far the most important, is 

 the warm current from the south carrying water of high salinity, 

 known as the Kuro-Siwo or Japanese current, and corresponding in 

 a general way to the so-called Gulf Stream of the western Atlantic. 

 On reaching the coasts of Japan and the peninsula of Korea the 

 Kuro-Siwo divides into three parts ; the principal part advances 

 along the southern coast of Japan ; the second enters the Sea of 

 Japan through the straits of Korea and forms the so-called Tsu- 

 shima current ; the third turns to the westward and resembles in its 

 general characteristics a similar branch which is given off from the 

 Kuro-Siwo south of Formosa. It is not yet definitely known just 

 what direction this branch takes ; but as Makaroff found in running 

 from the Chu-San archipelago to Nagasaki a water with a very 

 high specific gravity it seems probable that this branch, after de- 

 scribing a broad curve, turns toward the south in the same manner 

 as does the branch given off south of Formosa. 



The Tsu-Shima current does not occupy the entire width of the 

 Korean Straits, for there is a zone of cold water with a low specific 

 gravity along the Korean Coast which is part of a similar zone 

 occupying the entire western part of the sea of Japan. On entering 

 the Sea of Japan through the Korean Straits the Tsu-Shima current 

 turns to the right and runs northeastward along the Japanese coast. 

 It is probable that this current influences the salinity of the entire 

 southeastern part of the Sea of Japan. 



Observations have shown that near Dajelet Island at a depth of 

 100 meters the cold water is sharply separated from the warm water 

 which here is shoved downward, forming a dee]) current beneath 

 the superficial water of low salinity flowing southward from the 

 north. 



