search on the herring, in the Norwegian and Greenland Seas . One of the main purposes of this 

 work was to improve the accuracy of the chart of constant currents. The hydrological observ- 

 ations of earlier years - which were made at stations situated too far apart (30 or more sea miles) 

 - did not permit individual details in the distribution of currents and eddies to be shown, and con- 

 sequently in the post-war work of the Polar Institute the distance between stations has been reduced 

 to 20-15 or even 10 miles with a view to preparing a completely detailed current chart. 



This work has made it possible to compile a new chart of constant currents in the Norwegian 

 and Greenland Seas differing fundamentally in a number of respects from the universally recognized 

 chart of Nansen as well as from other charts . 



In addition to the observations of the Polar Institute, certain data from the literature - 

 mainly on the cold East Greenland current (1, 3) - and data provided by drifters-^have been used 

 in the compilation of the current chart. 



When compiling the chart, the authors worked on the principle of following the axes of the 

 currents on the basis of the vertical and horizontal distribution of the temperature (Figure 1) and 

 salinity of the sea water while at the same time using the data on plankton (biological data). Great 

 attention was paid to the effects of the bottom contours . 



X Bear Is . 



Figure 1. Distribution of temperature of surface water in the Norwegian and Greenland 

 Seas Gune 1954). 



1_/ These latter were based on astronomical observations made by the captains at the beginning 

 and end of the drift, due allowance being made for the wind. 



70 



